Cry me a River
by Naty17
Summary: Chelsea is forced to move to Sunshine Islands and farm because of a little "incident" in her past. But, her life turns upside down when she meets an old friend, who doesn't exactly remember her- and hates her guts. Will she revive his memory, or give up?
1. A Beginning to No End

_**Cry me a River**_

**Ch.****1 – The Beginning to No End**

"Well, have a nice day, Chelsea!"

I stood there, silently. I watched Taro leave, still trying to understand what he was saying. Yes, I got drunk. Yes, I shoplifted because of it. But did I really deserve to have to farm for it? And not just for today, but for the next 5 years of my life? Taro tried to teach me the basic farming skills, but, mind you, it was much harder then it looked. And besides, I had to grow turnips! I had always hated turnips! God, this was terrible! And to add all this up, they just had to completely remove me from my life, and made me move! I missed Forget-Me-Not Valley, I missed Muffy, Celia, and Lumina, but most of all, I missed my beloved Skye! I didn't care that he was a thief; I missed his loving gaze, his strong arms wrapped around me, his charm… and even all the times he broke into my house… But all that seemed so far away now, like a good dream that I had to wake up from to live a nightmare… But I wasn't in Forget-Me-Not anymore. Here I was, on the Sunshine Islands. Ranch Island. My new home. This was all too much for me. I hated my life. I ran into my new (ugly) house, and felt the hot tears running down my cheeks. I didn't care if anyone found me. Right now, I didn't care about anything at all. It just made me feel better when I cried… I felt myself going dizzy until my world blacked out.

Why was the sun so bright? I looked at the clock on the nightstand beside me. 6:00am? Wow! I could still feel fresh tears on my cheeks. Did I really cry myself to sleep? I got up lazily. I always did seem to over-exaggerate! I stepped outside. I knew Taro would want me to tend my crops, but I was still too moody to care. So, instead, I walked up to the waterside, sat down, and waited. What was I waiting for? I don't even know. Just something, anything…

I don't know how long I was sitting there. Minutes, hours? Not important. I jumped when I felt someone tap my shoulder. I turned to see a boy with blond hair and emerald green eyes, similar to Muffy's, but the first thing I had noticed about him was the big wide grin pasted on his face.

"Hi!" he exclaimed. "You're the new farmer girl, right?"

He didn't even wait for an answer to keep talking.

My name's Mark. What's your name?"

I didn't dare tell him, but he was kind of scaring me. And when I'm scared, well… I seem to stutter.

"M-My name?" I managed to say. "I-It's uh… It's Chelsea." He laughed, and I felt a little insulted. He wouldn't be the first to make fun of my stutter, but I could still feel my cheeks heating.

"You're kind of cute!" he said, and what I thought was a blush became a pure crimson.

He started looked around my island, and paused a few seconds when his gaze fell to my un-watered turnip seeds. When he turned back to me, I could see, no matter how hard he tried to hide it, that he was not impressed, and I automatically felt a source of guilt. He looked at me as if expecting an excuse.

"What?" I snapped at him defensly. I didn't really mean for it to come out so harsh, but it had.

He looked a little offended, but that didn't stop him from asking me the obvious.

"Why didn't I water my turnips? Why? I'll tell you why!" I shouted. "Maybe I **was** upset over losing my friends, my family, my boyfriend… MY LIFE!"

Then, surprise, surprise, he… hugged me? I don't know why, but I felt so safe in his arms, yet it still felt… wrong… I eventually came back to my senses, and pulled away from him, my cheeks once again turning bright pink.

"I'm so sorry…" he said. "I didn't know…"

I sighed. Of course he didn't know, I hadn't told him.

"No, it's OK, it's my fault. I shouldn't have overreacted."

"No, really! I didn't mean to pry, I-"

"Mark?"

"Yeah?"

"It's my fault, so shut up."

He laughed. "Here, I'll help you water those darn turnip seeds." I scrunched my nose, thinking of the horrible taste, which made Mark laugh even harder!

"Yeah, they're not my favourite either. Stupid veggies!"

He was sweet…

After tending the turnips, we both sat down in the grass. "It's still early enough…" said Mark, checking his watch. "…only 2:00. We still have time to meet the other villagers."

"Do we have too?" I whined. He laughed at how childish I was.

"No, but you should." And so we went.

First, I met Natalie. She had a cute pink bob held back by a red ribbon, hazel eyes, and reminded me a lot of my good friend Nami, due to her stubbornness. I had a really good feeling we would become good friends… Then I met Elliot, Natalie's brother. He had the same pink coloured hair and slightly brown eyes, but he had the opposite of Natalie's personality. He was sweet, but shy, though I couldn't see why. He also couldn't stop blushing, especially with Natalie calling him names. Thank God I am an only child! After them, I met Felicia, their mother. She looked a lot like Natalie, but older, and with her longer hair in braids. She kept on telling me that her family owned the shipping business, and that Elliot would pick up the shipments everyday at 5:00pm, and blablabla until Mark told her, thankfully, that it was time to go.

I met Mirabelle and Julia next. Mirabelle was a plump little woman, with a mix of ginger and gold coloured hair. She had a sweet smile, but I was afraid of what I'd be facing if she got angry. Hopefully, that would never happen. The first thing I thought when I first saw Julia was: past hooker. What? She sure looked like one, with a sky-blue top that made me think of Britney Spears, daisy-duke shorts, tall white high-heeled boots, and an ultra-skinny body! But if you concentrated on her face, her golden strands of hair, and her blue eyes, you see an average teenage girl… sort of… She seemed a little… over-cheerful…

As we exited the Animal Shop, where they lived, Pierre went by us. Call me stupid, but at first, I thought he was a gigantic purple penguin. He wore a purple tux with a matching top-hat. The only thing that differenced him from a penguin was the spiky blond hair poking from under his big hat. It was blond, so blond it almost looked yellow. Over-blond, just like Muffy… I missed her so much… OK, stop thinking of that!

We went on to meet the fishing freaks, Denny and Lanna. Lanna was almost as blond as Pierre, but not quite. She had hazel brown eyes, and wore a teal green dress, that looked like the type of gowns porcelain dolls wore, with a lacy teal headband to match. Apparently, she was a pop star, but when her popularity decreased, she came to the Islands to relax.

"But I will go back to make my comeback!" she was quick to add.

That thought seemed to make Denny sad, even if he tried to hide it. It was way too obvious he liked her. Denny was dark-skinned, with chocolate brown eyes, and dark hair. He wore a purple bandana, and there was some sort of bird perched on his shoulder, who kept on repeating everything we said. It took a lot of effort not to tell the parrot to shut up! Eventually, it was time to leave. It took me a few seconds to recognize where we were going.

"Why are we back at the Animal Shop?" I asked my companion.

Ignoring me, he entered the house and asked Julia:  
"It's Monday. Where's Vaughn?"

"Well, hello to you to, Mark." Julia said mockingly. "Vaughn? He's done work for today, but he should be back soon. My guess is that he's with Sabrina."

Sabrina? Oh, yeah, I remember her. We met her shortly before Denny and Lanna. She seemed kind of shy, but was still polite. She wore a purple plaid dress with a little pink knit jacket. She was wearing a matching pink bow in her long black hair, and her lilac coloured eyes were hidden behind big round glasses.

"Do you know when exactly he'll be back?"

"Nope, sorry." Julia replied, carefree.

I didn't know how, but the name, Vaughn… It sounded familiar…

"Who's Vaughn?" I asked innocently.

"He's my bud…" Mark answered with a smile. "Why?"

For a reason I didn't know of, my cheeks went pink.

"Just wondering…"

He looked at my slightly flushed face with a confused look mixed with… something else… a feeling I couldn't seem to recognize…

We decided to end the day at Mystic Islands. Oddly enough, one of the islands were shaped head. Although my curiosity screamed to go that way, I followed Mark over to the other one. We had just sat down in front of a clear blue spring, when a teenage girl about my age came out of the church behind us. She had light brown hair, which looked kind of pinkish in the warm spring sun. Her sapphire blue eyes, who had just moments ago shimmered with joy, had now noticed me, and turned to sadness.

"Oh, uh… Hi Mark… Uh… Who's this, your uh, g-" she swallowed. "Your girlfriend?"

"Oh, hi!" Mark beamed, then understood what the girl said. "W-What? Girlfriend?" He laughed.

"No, this is the new rancher. Chelsea?" He motioned towards me. "This is Alisa. Alisa? This is Chelsea." A surge of relief appeared on the girl- Alisa's – face.

"Oh, OK! Nice to meet you!" she said ecstatically.

"Nice to meet you too, I guess…" I answered nervously. As Mark and Alisa chatted together, I took off the farming boots Felicia gave me and peeled off the socks underneath. I dipped my feet into the water of the spring. It was so cool and refreshing! I noticed, as I relaxed, that Mark and Alisa's voices were growing quieter and quieter…

I woke up. Where was I? It looked like… some sort of park… kind of familiar… Oh yeah! The park on Castanet! _**CRAC! **_A twig snapped, and I froze. The sound came from behind the bushes. Was someone there? I took a peek, and… there was a boy with silver hair. He had his back to me, and was facing a girl with hazel brown eyes and slightly darker hair… Wait! That was me! A pretty, younger version of me! Then who was that boy… Skye? It sure looked like him, but he was too young. The kids I was looking at were about 8 years old… And look at the dress I was wearing! Even covered in mud and grass stains, the yellow floral print and white laced fabric was astonishing!

"What is it? You know my mother has forbidden me to speak to you." Ah, my past sophisticated language. Great.

"Because I'm an orphan?" The boy snorted. "Screw that!"

'Hmm, nice choice of words, little boy, you just got little-me pissed!' I thought to myself. This was true. Little-me was bubbling with rage.

"Don't you dare talk about my mother that way!" The boy only sighed. "Sorry, it's just-"

"Just what?" Little-me practically screamed. But the boy remained calm, and continued.

"I know I've only known you for a few seasons, and that…" He sighed again, and looked away. "And that if you're seen with me, your life will be ruined, but… Chelsea… I… I…" He looked back at little-me. "I'm in love with you."

But I and my younger self gasped. Slowly, the boy took my chin, tilted it forward, and kissed me softly. It was the perfect love scene. When I had seen it in movies, I had thought it ridiculous, but now, having seen it in reality, I would definitely stop judging it. My heart thumped just at the sight of the two young lovers.

"I-I-I l-lo…" Little-me held on to the syllable for a few seconds, before sighing and shaking her head. She straightened up, looked at the boy straight in the eyes, and said confidently:

"I love you too, Vaughn…"

-End of Ch.1-

**Yes, finally finished! This took forever to finish! This chapter itself is 2096 words! Yep. In written form, this was actually 9 pages! I'm really proud of myself. Anyway, just to help clear a bit up, the last part, when she "woke up"? She actually fainted and was having some sort of flashback. And, I find it kind of annoying how:**

**1. Chelsea is always so bubbly and cheerful. I know I made her a little OOC, but that's because I find the happiness overused.**

**2. How Julia always seems to become Chelsea's best friend. I know that in other fics, if Chelsea is Miss "happy-go-lucky", their personalities are really similar. In this fic, Chelsea is most like Natalie, so they'll have some sort of connection.**

**Also, just thought I'd apologise at all the OCCs going on here, it's my first story ****based**** on something else. Anywho, I've got 4 chapters already written and ready to be typed, so keep tuning in, and…**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Thanks.**

**Natasha**


	2. Winding Trails

_**Cry me a **__**River**_

**Ch.****2 – Winding Trails**

"Chelsea? Chelsea!" Someone was shaking me. "Chelsea, wake up!"

I knew that voice…

"Daddy? Is that you?"

"Daddy-what? It's me, Mark!"

Huh? Oops… My eyes snapped open. I was back on Mystic Islands, one foot still in the spring beside me. Alisa was gone, and I was alone with Mark.

"Goddess, you look exhausted!"

"Goddess-what?"

Ignoring me, Mark scooped me up effortlessly into his arms, and carried me back to Kurt's boat.

"No!" Mark looked back to me, confused.

"What?" he asked.

"I-I… I have to meet Vaughn!"

"Tomorrow's Tuesday. You'll be able to meet him then. Right now, it's obvious that you're dead tired, and we need to get you home so you can rest.

"But-"

"We'll meet the rest of the villagers tomorrow."

I started to protest, but in vain, and I ended up falling asleep in the blond man's arms…

* * *

"Beep! Beep! Beep!"

Ugh! What was that noise! I opened my eyes and found myself back in my tiny (and still ugly) house. What time was it? How did I get here? My mind drifted back to yesterday evening… Oh, I remember now. Mark must've carried me here… just like he must've set my alarm… I rolled over and checked the small clock on my nightstand. It was… 8:00 am. I groaned, turned off my alarm, and thought back to when I blacked out at Mystic Islands. , the doctor at Forget-Me-Not, had said I had lost all memory of my childhood permanently, due to an overdose of alcohol, and the fact that I was an under-aged drinker. Apparently, permanently was the wrong word. Temporarily would have been more suitable. It was all coming back now…

My family was rich, so when my mother saw me and Vaughn together, she forbade me to speak to him. It didn't really help that he was an orphan… Vaughn's parents had put him up for adoption as soon as he was aged enough to do so. According to him, he was an accident, a one-night affair gone wrong. So, every night, he'd escape his temporary home to come meet me at the park. One night, my mom saw me leave the house, and decided to follow me. She saw Vaughn and I… well, you know… and she was so disappointed in me, she organized an arranged marriage. And that was the night Vaughn and I ran away together. Unfortunately, my mother caught up to us, and to save me, Vaughn distracted her. And that was the last time I ever saw him. Hopefully until now.

Of course, it could be an entire different person, but the name "Vaughn" wasn't that common. I wish it was the same person…

I knew Mark would probably be here any minute, but I could at least **try **to tend my turnips first, couldn't I?

I got out of bed, and put on my usual clothes: a light yellow tank-top, my Capri shorts, my favourite orange jacket, and my new farming boots. I sighed when I looked in the mirror. No matter how much I brushed my hair, it still looked funny. I was so desperate, I even started looking around the house for something, anything that would help my situation. And then, in one corner of the room, I saw an old red shirt, and I got an idea. I ripped a bit of fabric, and wrapped it in my chestnut brown hair, to make a red bandana, similar to the one Denny wore. Perfect!

I happily stepped outside, and noticed that my crops were already watered. I looked up. There was barely a cloud in the sky, but it still could have rained.

But those thoughts vanished when I saw Mark walking from behind my house.

"Mark!" I called out, as I ran up to him. "Did you-"

"Water the turnips?" he finished for me. He sighed. "Yeah, I did." He looked pretty tired. Actually, he looked kind of… sad…

"Mark, what's wrong?" He gave me a little half-smile.

"It's nothing, I just got into a fight with a friend." I gasped.

"Are you alright?" Now he really smiled. "Oh, Chelsea. You're way too caring. Now, I'm guessing you want to meet the other villagers, am I right?" I pouted a little.

"Fine…"

I followed him into town, and caught sight of a silver-haired man, that looked exactly like the boy in my flashback in the Animal Shop. And that was exactly where we were heading.

"Is that Vaughn?" I asked innocently. Mark, who was staring at the pathway, shot his head up at the name. He followed my gaze through the shop window, and turned around, walking away quickly.

"No, it isn't." He grumbled, without even glancing back. I took one last look at the curious silver-haired man, to see that he'd caught my stare. I looked away, and quickly raced after Mark.

* * *

"Hey, Will." A man with bond hair looked up at us.

"Oh, why, hello Mark!" He quickly noticed Mark wasn't alone, as his baby blue eyes inspected me. "And who is this lovely maiden that I have the pleasure to meet?" I blushed at the fact that he called me lovely, although I didn't fully understand the rest of his sentence. Mark seemed to notice this.

"Will, save your sweet words for Lily." This caused Will to frown.

"I was merely being polite. As you may have guessed, my lady, my name is Will." He said, bowing down his head. "Or, at least, that's what everyone else calls me. My real name is William Terry Louis Andrew Carrick Jonathan Dredge Hams Reading Roger Southwark Alwick Plymouth Junior Regison III."

I started getting dizzy with all the unnecessary information. How would I remember all that? Will and Mark both laughed at my shocked face.

"Don't worry, that's what I looked like when he told me!" Mark said.

"Indeed, you may call me Will. No other could remember such a name, so you are not the only one. But, fair maiden, you have yet to tell me your name!"

Still dizzy from the overdose of info, I couldn't concentrate. "M-My name?" I struggled to remember. "Uh… Julia? No, Natalie Carrick Roger, uh… I don't know!" I said, falling to the ground. Mark snickered.

"Dang you, Will, you've screwed up her memory!"

"No! I still remember your name! You're Mark." I said, pointing to Will. "And you're Will!" I said, pointing at the other man in front of me.

Mark laughed. "Close enough. Her name's Chelsea."

"Who's Lily?" I asked, finally going back to normal.

"Oh, Lily? She's the girl I fancy on these Islands. She is truly beautiful!" I nodded. Just then, a figure appeared.

"Sorry to bother, but I believe I have just heard my name being said?" I figured this was Lily, since a light pink appeared on Will's face, and Mark tried to stifle a laugh. Emphasis on the tried.

"I don't recall having said something so amusing… Am I missing something?"

Trying to avoid further awkwardness, I stepped up to the woman.

She looked Korean, and she had her long black hair held up in a confusing type of ponytail, with ornaments hanging here and there. She was dressed in blood red colored Japanese robes, with gold lacing decorating it, and she wore matching gloves from her elbow down. I had to admit, I **was** a little jealous of her beauty.

"Hello! My name is Chelsea! I'm the new rancher!" She looked at Mark and Will with a confused look, but shrugged it off, and turned to me.

"My name is Lily. I'm a treasure hunter. It's nice to meet you!" Then, she widened her eyes in realization. "I'm sorry, did you just say you were the new rancher? My, you're a brave one! I wouldn't have the strength or the courage!"

I was about to tell her I was forced to farm, but thought better. Why bother come up with a stupid lie that would make everyone suspicious? I knew people would judge me if I told them I had nearly been arrested. Besides, I hadn't **just **shoplifted. No, there was something much darker…

* * *

_OK, so that's it! This was actually supposed to be way longer… I mean, like, five more pages longer! Then I looked at the word count thingy, and it said 1365 words! That's officially nuts, even for me! It would've been, like, 3000 words! So, I split it in half. Sorry it took so long! I'm a bad girl, and I kept getting grounded, so… Yeah. And, about the _"No, there was something so much darker…" _part? Sorry, you're gonna have to wait to find out what that meant. I'm thinking chapter… 6? 7? 8? Depends on how many chappies I split in half… I write a lot…_

_Special Thanks to:_

_wipe-your-tears: You are so amazingly awesome, you have no idea how epic you are! You have no idea how lucky I am to have met you! I'm really looking forward to the rest of Blue Moon! K… I'm good… _

_Alright, so, please review!_


	3. Winding Trails part 2

Cry me a River

_Yes! Finally, chapter three is done! Freaking 1304 words! Kind of short, but it's still tiring to write!_

_Yes! I got the uploader to sort of work! When you get the ERROR message, there should be the word PROPERTY on the URI. Change the word property to content. YAY!_

_To wipe-your-tears: There, it's out. Now, just as you promised, you have to give Vaughnie back, no ifs or buts (hahaha! Butts…). And I'm not sharing anymore! Ha!_

_

* * *

_

Ch.3 – Winding Trails II

We started walking down the path, unsure of where to go. My farm work was done, and I had already met all the villagers. Well, all but one. What else was there to do?

"Where's your ranch?" I asked Mark.

"My ranch? It's not on Sunshine Islands."

"Oh? Where is it then?"

"Well, there was an abandoned ranch in Forget-Me-Not, so I moved in." I swallowed hard, trying to ignore the longing to go back to the Valley. "But I prefer the Islands here, and I didn't want to leave. So I live here, and I go there every day to work."

"Well, why didn't you go there today? Don't you have crops or animals?" He chuckled, and looked at me. "You seem to be growing attached." He continued before I could object.

"It's 'cause I was spending my whole day with you, Chelsea."

"But you have to go take care of your farm! Shouldn't you be there now?"

He hesitated before answering. "Yeah. I probably should."

"Then go!"

He completely stopped walking, and turned towards me. "You just want me gone, don't you?"

I gasped at this. It was a good thing I was a good liar. It's probably from all the years of practice. I _did _want him gone. He kept on steering me away from the person I wanted to meet most; the man that looked like the one from my past. So, once I bugged him enough, he left for his farm, and I was free to explore in my free will.

"I'll be back at around 5:30, OK?"

"Alright. See you then!"

But, as soon as he was out of sight, I started searching for what had been haunting me yesterday. I finally achieved my goal on the beach of Sprout Island. He was there with Sabrina.

'Vaughn? He's done work for today, but he should be back soon. My guess is that he's with Sabrina.' Julia's words echoed through my mind, and confirmed this as Vaughn. Unless Sabrina was cheating on him, but I seriously doubted it. She wouldn't have the guts.

I was about to them, when they both kissed… And all of a sudden, I felt… angry at Sabrina… annoyed… for some reason…

My thoughts where interrupted when I heard someone shout.

"Vaughn? Vaughn!" I immediately recognized the voice as Mirabelle. Vaughn broke the kiss, looked over his shoulder, and snarled. "What?" Heh, rude, much.

Then he saw me. I could've sworn I saw his eyes widen with surprise, but he shook his head, and mumbled something under his breath. He got up and walked away, without saying a single word to Sabrina. I could tell Sabrina was hurt. The poor girl was staring into the ocean with a sad look on her face, as if the waves would give her the answers to all her problems.

"Hey." I said, walking up.

"Oh, hello, Chelsea…"

"You alright?" She looked up at me, with her lilac puppy-dog eyes.

"I-I…" She glanced at the tall figure walking away from us. "Honestly, I don't know anymore."

Right on cue, as if this were some drama movie, a rumble of thunder could be heard. It didn't take long for rain to start pouring on us.

"Oh! We can't stay out here! Come, my house is just a few feet away."

Sabrina's "house" turned out to be a huge mansion! I was frozen to the spot, drooling, still in the rain. Sabrina giggled.

"Come on, Chelsea! You're going to get sick!" She had to eventually drag me in. I was still gaping at the house. On the inside, it looked even bigger.

"Would you like some tea?" Sabrina asked.

"Tea? Oh, sure. Peppermint, please."

I sat down on a black leather couch, and after having started the kettle, Sabrina sat on a matching one across from me.

"You know, you're right, Chelsea. There is something wrong."

She studied my face carefully, making sure I was listening. There were glistening tears behind those big round glasses, and I saw a longing, or a worry – just something that made my heart break.

"I don't know if you've met Vaughn yet, but… I love him. A lot. And… I'm afraid it's not the same for him anymore… or if it ever was…" She sighed.

"I mean, I know he's all rude and stuff, but I know that, somewhere deep inside, there's a heart. I don't think I've ever gone deep enough to reach it, though…"

Rude? That didn't sound quite like the Vaughn I used to know… Maybe it isn't him after all… Oh, yeah, sheer coincidence, he just happens to have the same name, and look exactly like him! There was one way I could find out, though. I would never forget those deep amethyst eyes…

"Chelsea?"

"Go on, go on…"

"Well, before, he used to at least act like he loved me. Now, he barely even holds a conversation! And whenever I try to ask him why, he just kisses me and says we'll talk about it later, but we never do!"

And that was it. She burst into tears. I went up to the couch she was sitting on, and started rubbing her back, trying to calm her down.

"Shh…" I said. "Everything's gonna be fine… You know, there's always a reason for things!" Hearing myself say those words, I felt myself drift into my own past…

~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

"Daddy?"

I watched as my father came through the door. He looked sick, and there were dark circles under his eyes.

"Get out of my way, you brat!"

"But Daddy, I want to make sure you're alright!"

"I said get out of my way!" He said, before pushing me out of his path. I slammed into the wall. Why was Daddy acting like this? At that time, I was so young, so fragile…

"Freya? Where are you?"

Weeping in pain, I listened to my parents shouting. Soon enough, I could hear slaps, and my mother crying. I honestly loved my father. But what he did to both my mother and I could not be forgiven…

~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

"Chelsea? Chelsea!" I snapped back to reality. What was the past stayed the past. That was the one of many reasons that I am who I am today.

"Chelsea, what's the date today?"

"Uh… Spring 3, I think… Wh-"

"Oh no! Maybe that's why he was so rude! I forgot about his birthday!" I froze.

"Y-You forgot his… birthday?" As soon as that came out, I regretted saying it. Sabrina started tearing up again.

"Y-Yes… I'm such a terrible person…"

"Hey! Don't say that! You're a wonderful girl. Caring, honest…" I looked up at her. "And I Vaughn doesn't see that, then maybe he's not worth your attention."

"T-Thank you! But, uh… Chelsea? Could you help me make some porridge for him? I-It's his favorite…"

I sighed. Did I just do that useless pep talk… for nothing? Dang… At least it cheered her up.

"Sure, why not?

* * *

When we were finished the porridge, we went back to the Animal Shop, where Sabrina assumed Vaughn would be. I stayed by the door, while Sabrina went inside. There was a window right above my hiding spot, and, just my luck it was slightly open.

As soon as Sabrina stepped inside the house, I heard Vaughn whine. "Sabrina, I have to work!"

"But Vaughn! I brought you something!" Sabrina answered.

About a minute passed by, and I assumed Vaughn was opening his gift. "Oh, good." I heard him say. "I thought you forgot my birthday, or something."

I could feel my rage bubbling up. Nothing! Not even a thank you, or anything!

Sabrina walked out sadly. I watched as a fresh tear slid down her cheek… And that's when I lost it.

* * *

_Haha! Cliffhanger! And, unfortunately, that's probably my last chapter of the week. See ya next Wednesday (maybe)!_

_So, some HM fans might've recognized Chelsea's mom, Freya. It was originally supposed to be Lumina and Rock, but then I realized: She lived in Forget-Me-Not before, and they were the same age as her! Oops… I quickly found these too, and thought "They could be Chelsea's parents", even though it's completely OOC for Ivan to abuse someone… Oh well…_

_One more thing: You may have been wondering why I haven't killed Sabrina yet, right? It's 'cause there may be some Sabrina fans out there, and I don't want them to hate me… Haha! That's the worst lie I've ever told! Nah, it's just 'cause I don't want it to become too violent, 'cause then the whole plot will just go plain weird…_

_**Please Review!**_


	4. One Problem: Him

**Cry me a River**

Ch.4-One problem: Him

I ran in.

"What the hell is your problem?" Vaughn looked up from the papers he was reading.

"I don't know. Why don't you tell me?" He said, without a care in the world. He must be pretty used to being yelled at. But when he really saw me, and registered my appearance, he made a strange face, as if struggling to remember something… His eyes suddenly widened, but he shook his head and pressed his palm onto his forehead in disbelief.

"Who on Earth are you?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, my name is Chelsea. Now what the hell is your problem?"

"Chelsea… Do I know you from somewhere? You look kind of… familiar…"

"Yep, you do. I'm the girl who was yelling at you about 5 seconds ago. The same girl that you just ignored."

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. So, what is my problem?"

"Why the hell did you just act like that?"

"Are you… stalking me?" He asked with disgust.

"What the hell? No! Now answer the darn question!"

"Act like what?"

"Well, isn't Sabrina your girlfriend?"

"Yeah. So?"

"Well, maybe…" I said, stepping closer to him. "You should learn to appreciate her more."

"Because…?"

I gaped at him. How much of a jerk could one guy be? "Because she's a human being, not a pet! You're supposed to love her, take care of her, not make her miserable!"

"Oh? I'm making her miserable now, am I?" He said, circling around me. I stiffened under his gaze.

Every second felt like hours. Every footstep sounded like thunder. Every breath I took felt like my last. He chuckled at my reaction; he knew he was intimidating me. And worst of all, he was enjoying it, like the big bully he was.

I turned around to face him-but ended up just standing there, gaping. I hadn't noticed his eyes, since his hat was always covering them. But if I got close enough, I was short enough to see underneath it. His eyes were the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen, I dark, mysterious, amethyst purple. They were scary in a way, like if you looked to deep, you'd fall into them.

"Hello?" He said, arching an eyebrow. It was only then that I realized I was staring at him… still gaping… I quickly shut my mouth.

"Much better." He said.

"Yes. You _are_ making her miserable. But you don't even give a damn." I finally said, slapping him across the cheek. I stormed out, ignoring both Mirabelle and Julia, who were both watching silently the whole time.

"You kind of deserved it…" I heard Julia mutter, as I closed the door behind me.

Sabrina was nowhere in sight. I sent a silent prayer to the Goddess, 'cause who knows what would've happened if she saw mw gaping at Vaughn's eyes… Man was that embarrassing…

"Chelsea? Are you alright?" I looked up to find Natalie, watching me with a worried expression.

"I-I guess…"

"Are you sure?"

I sighed. "No, Natalie. I'm honestly not sure…"

* * *

We decided to go to Mystic Islands. We sat by the pond, and just talked. I told her about my abusive father. She told me she had never known her own. I told her about Vaughn and I's secret past friendship, along with what had happened only a few minutes before. She listened patiently. We both talked about how we both got bullied at school; Natalie, for her rare hair color, and myself for my annoying stutter (1).

When, finally, we ran out of things to talk about, we just sat there in a comfortable silence.

"You know, this is nice…" said Natalie.

"Yeah… We should do this more often!"

"Maybe we should."

We sat there for a few more minutes, watching the sun set.

"You know…" said Natalie, dipping her bare foot in the spring before us. "There are rumors that the Harvest Goddess lives in this sad pond."

"Oh? And do you believe them?"

Natalie snorted.

"I'm guessing that's a no?" I said teasingly.

"I think it's all just garbage, to get more people to come to these islands. But of course that nun girl is to naïve to even realize."

I chuckled. "Now I know how Elliot feels around you!"

"Mention one more thing about my brother, and you'll be able to live the whole experience!" Natalie shouted, holding up her fist at me. We both sat there like that for a few seconds, before laughing our heads off.

"I-I-I'm… I'm good!" I said, between laughs.

"Let's hope so!"

* * *

I was making my way back to my farm, when the giant purple penguin – I mean, Pierre – stepped in front of me.

"Hello, Chelsea! How are you today?" He asked. But I, being too much of a daydreamer, wasn't listening.

"Hmm?" Pierre laughed. It surprised me, since I should be the one laughing at him, and his stupid sense of fashion.

"So, Chelsea, I was wondering if you were going to participate in my cooking festival, in the summer."

"There's a cooking competition?" Now Pierre laughed even harder. I was just sooo darn hilarious, wasn't I?

"Oh, Chelsea, you make me laugh." No kidding.

"If you want, Chelsea, I could give you some pointers for it!" Did I ever say I was entering? He leaned in closer.

"The winner is the one that made the most alterations to their dish. (2)" He whispered.

"Thanks, Pierre, that's very kind of you, but I'm afraid I can not join you. (3)" Pierre's face fell.

"Why not?"

"Pierre, I don't even have a kitchen!" The purple midget gasped.

"How could that be? That's a shame… But you can still practice at my house!" He said excitedly, running towards the nearest house.

"Like, right now?"

"Yes! Why, do you have other plans?" He asked suddenly.

I checked my watch.

"I guess I have some time to spare…"

* * *

I had to give Pierre some credit, 'cause that was actually really fun! We made more dishes then I can count, not even counting the ones I burned! After we were both tired out, we ate some of the food, and I gladly brought some leftovers home with me.

But just as I stepped out of the door, as if his goal was to ruin my day, I slammed right into Vaughn. Clumsy as I was, I ended up on my butt. Aren't I graceful?

"Watch where you're going!" he said, without even glancing back.

And it was at that exact moment that I swore something to myself: "From now on, I will always hate Mondays and Tuesdays…"

* * *

_Huh. This was supposed to be longer, but I'm sooooooo tired right now, why even bother? Besides, it's already 1167 words, so… Bleh…_

_Here's the number thingies:_

_(1) Chelsea's stutter doesn't appear too much in the story: she kind of grew out of it-kind of…_

_(2) That's actually true. At least, in the SI version it is…_

_(3) She used to be rich, so that's why Chelsea is talking like that. Bad habits die hard, eh?_


	5. Confusion and sleepovers

**Cry me a River**

**Ch.5-****Confusion and sleepovers**

_Oh god… Sorry if things start to get a little… crappy, I didn't like my story line, so I COMPLETELY started over, starting from chapter 5 (this one)… So… Yeah. OK, I don't know what to really say right now, plus this dude named Geoffrey is reading over my shoulder, and it's REALLY annoying. Yeah, I'm talking' 'bout you! Wow… He's happy that I mentioned him… Idiot. Oh, no, now William wants to annoy me too… That's what I get for typing at school… Get lost, you retards! OK, sorry… Anywho… Oh, great, now William's getting the teacher all pissed off for beating up Marcus… ANYWAY… R & R!_

* * *

"Hey, Chelsea! Are you alright?" Julia said, running over to see me. Uh, I just ran into a miserable cow-boy. What do you think?

I groaned as I got up. What did I ever do to the dumb cowboy to deserve this? My butt hurt… "I'm fine… Ow…"

"Here, come on…" she said, as she helped me up. "There you go! Sorry about him; he's like that to everyone. Just something you have to get used to, I guess…" She added, sighing.

"Thanks, Julia…"

"Oh my gosh, you should sleep over at my house! (1)" Wow… where did she get that idea from? "I mean, since you're new and stuff, it would be a good way to meet all the other girls, right?"

'Noooooooooo!' my thoughts screamed. But, of course, I'm just too kind to just burst someone's bubble like that. And that's how I ended up at Julia's house.

"So, Lanna… Truth? Or dare?"

"Truth." She said nervously.

"Ok…" I said, thinking hard. "Is it true that… you have a crush on Denny?"

A small blush made its way on her face. "No…" She said, blushing even harder.

Natalie snickered. " Lanna and Denny, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G! "

"No!" Lanna screeched, now completely red.

"Oh well, it was already obvious enough." Julia said, yawning.

Every **normal** girl was here, except for Sabrina. Not that the others _weren't _normal, it's just… A witch? And a nun? No thanks. And Lily was gone who knows where, but we DID ask Sabrina. She just said she was busy, even if she looked like she had just seen a ghost… I'm guessing she doesn't like sleepovers.

"Alright then, Julia! Truth or dare!" Lanna said, her face slowly turning back to its original color.

"Dare!" Julia yelled, a mischievous sparkle in her eyes.

"OK! Uh… um…" Lanna leaned towards me. "What should I ask her?" she whispered.

"Leave it to me." I whispered back.

I loved truth or dare. I used to play it all the time with the Valley girls, but I could never beat Flora's dares; she was an evil genius! I still had to think of something good – Julia was like a Flora in disguise; she made Natalie call Doctor Trent, the doctor from Mineral Town, and tell him that her brother was giving birth! Doctor Trent didn't seem too amused, but we were rolling on the floor laughing. We could all just picture the scene perfectly! Which was a little weird… Heh, Elliot giving birth… Hee hee!

"Ok, Julia, uh… Go to Elliot, kiss him on the cheek, and tell him he's smexy!" Natalie burst out laughing.

"My brother? **MY **brother? Sexy? Ha, you wish!" Now, it was Julia's turn to turn red.

"And tell him to meet you at the beach in 5 minutes, then ditch him!" Lanna added.

"Uh… Ok…"

We rushed over to Taro's house, and crouched down in front of the window, as Julia walked in. As promised, she gave Elliot a little peck on the cheek, and she said something. Her cheeks were flaming, as she whispered something in Elliot's ear. Elliot looked like he could faint, and stood there nodding, dumbfounded. Pierre, who was sitting at the kitchen table, had dropped the famous spoon he was always holding. We all ran back to Julia's room, laughing.

"OK, my turn, now… I choose… Chelsea!" she exclaimed, and the room grew quiet. "Truth? Or dare!" she said, grinning evilly.

Normally, I would have chosen dare, but, like I said before, Julia was an evil genius. "Truth!" I said quickly. Julia pouted; I assumed she had found something really embarrassing to do.

"Fine… you're so lame! I knew I should've picked Natalie!" she said, still sulking. "Um… Is it true that… You like Vaughn?"

OK…? That was a very stupid question. She saw me yelling my head off at him that morning, and she saw him knock me to the ground, only an hour ago! So how on earth would I have found any affection for him? But then again, he was sort of my type; if a guy doesn't want me, it makes me want him even more. And Pierre seemed to be interested in me, Elliot didn't seem to mind me, and I hadn't seen Denny enough to know, but he seemed to like me too. Vaughn downright hated me, and he was the only one…

"Hellooooo? Earth to Chelsea, earth to Chelsea (2)!" I shook my head quickly. Lanna was waving her hand slowly in front of my face.

"Well, looks like we don't even need her to say her answer. That daydreamin' (3) said it all!" Julia said.

"Wha-?" I said lazily. I didn't have a clue what she was talking about.

"Oh no! Chelsea lost her memory! Vaughn's sexiness is too powerful for Chelsea's weak little mind!" Julia yelled out dramatically. I scowled at her.

"No, Julia, I didn't lose my memory. And that's just disgusting- I thought you said Vaughn was your cousin!"

"Yeah, he is. So?"

"Julia, you just called your own cousin sexy. That's just sick." Lanna and Natalie giggled (well, in Natalie's case, it was more like a chuckle), but Julia's blondeness made her confused.

"How?" I sighed. But that's just Julia. What else can I do?

"Ok, look, I do **NOT **like Vaughn, OK?"

"But you have a secret past with him, and-"

"Natalie!" I hissed. "Look, I'm gonna say it one more time. I don't like Vaughn. If anything, he probably hates me."

All of a sudden, I heard footsteps behind me. I turned to see Vaughn walk into his room, possibly looking angrier then usual…

Oops.

"Ugh, I'm so bored!" Lanna whined.

"Let's watch a movie! (4)" suggested Julia.

"Yeah, one with blood and guts, n' stuff!" Natalie said, grinning like a madman- sorry, I mean, madwoman!

"Ew! No way! Let's watch High School Musical!" Lanna said.

Natalie turned to me with a look on disgust on her face. "Please don't go on Lanna's side!"

Julia sighed. "Why don't we watch a REAL movie?"

I didn't know what "real" really was, but decided Julia's suggestion was better then random people stabbing each other, or adults playing teenagers start singing at random times.

"Great!" Julia said, and squealed.

She turned on the TV, and all of a sudden, Sponge Bob Square Pants appeared on the screen.

"OMG!" cried Lanna. "I love this song!"

" OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH !" The pirate dude on the TV and Lanna sang together. " WHO LIVES IN A PINEAPPLE UNDER THE SEA? SPONGE BOB SQARE PANTS! ABSORBANT AND YELLOW AND… SOMETHING SOMETHING! "

We laughed, since Lanna rarely ever forgot the words to a song. We just never thought it would be the Sponge Bob theme song (5)…

"Oh, shoot… I forgot the words…"

We all laughed at her.

Anyway, Julia **FINALLY **started the movie (it took half an hour for her to figure out where to put the "rectangular awesomeness box"). It started out OK… It was about this hooker, who finds this rich dude (6), and now they're… Oh Goddess (yes, now I say that too… It grows on ya, Ok?), I think I'm gonna barf…

I rushed out of the room, and into the store area. Lanna, Natalie, and Julia were all too obsessed with the movie (well… at least, Lanna and Julia were. Natalie was sleeping… and snoring…) to even notice me. I was about to rush to the door to get some fresh air, when I heard a rustle of papers in the far corner of the room. I was expecting to see a thief, and a part of me even feared it was Skye! But the person that was standing there was no other then the cowboy that hated me so much…

* * *

_I'm sorry, this was supposed to be longer, but I just wasn't in the mood… Plus I wanted to __**FINALLY**__ finish typing Nameless Ch.1. I think it's so AWESOME! Well, so far… But still! Hope you liked this, and I hope I update soon… You know, this is kinda starting to become humorous, at some times… huh._

_(1) As if you haven't heard that one before…_

_(2) I'm pretty sure I've already written that in one of my stories…_

_(3) Yep, Julia has just a __**pinch **__of western accent. _

_(4) In the written version, they were supposed to play spin the bottle, but I DIDN'T FEEL LIKE IT ! Ha! So DON'T JUDGE MEEEEEEE! *runs away crying for no reason* _

_(5) Actually, __**I **__was the one who forgot the words…_

_(6) The movie they're watching is Pretty Woman (AKA, best movie ever!__ ), __staring Julia Roberts, and some other random dude that I thinks' name is Gerard, but I honestly can't remember… Poo me…_

_K, so read n' review!_


	6. The Native, followed by a Grumpy Cowboy

_I'm assuming that, based on the title, you should be able to guess what this chapter will be about…__ By the way, I'm really disappointed with a few things; _

_1) Not many of you review, although I am __**EXTREMELY**__ thankful to those who do._

_2) I made a oneshot for Tina and Jamie, titled "Say Goodbye". Now, I know there aren't __**that **__many Tina x Jamie fans, but I only got 15 hits, and 14 visitors. That's ridiculous! So, I would appreciate if you took the time to read, and maybe even review, please…_

_To the ones who DO review to this:_

_kt the emo: Yeah, I didn't like the idea of Ivan abusing Freya either, so I changed it back to what it originally was; Rock x Lumina. I just needed one of the parents to be rich, and Ivan and Dirk are rich, aren't they? Plus, I thought they LOOKED a bit like they could be her parents too… But Lumina and Rock work too, since Rock is a player, who probably does get drunk very often…_

_coolestperson19: Wait- what? _

_Ayara012: Sorry if I can't update as fast as you might want me too… I have 4 stories on the work, and I try my best to update them as soon as possible, but it gets a little complicated sometimes… Plus, I only have the computer 3 or 4 days a week, which doesn't help at all…_

_tufted titmouse: You really like it? Thanks…_

_wipe-your-tears: Yeah, I actually felt bad for Sabrina… but that won't stop me from getting back at her! How could she be dating MY Vaughn?_

_skitsophraniac: Thanks, Nan! And yes, it is hard making Chelsea hate Vaughn, 'cause I love him so much! So, when's the next Harvest High out? I'm patiently waiting, you know!_

_Sorry if I missed anyone… But thanks for the reviews anyway! _

_Wow, that was a long A/N… Now for what you were really waiting for! To the story!_

* * *

**Ch.6-The Native, followed by a Grumpy Cowboy**

Yep. There was Vaughn, searching through a drawer. (1) I honestly was a little afraid of him, especially since if we started a conversation, he'd probably end up giving Mirabelle a heart attack with his screaming!

I suddenly realized that I had never really paid attention to his clothes (2); the first time I met him, I was yelling at him the whole time. The second time, he knocked me to the ground.

He wore a black long-sleeved shirt, a brown vest layered on top of it, and dark jeans with a brown belt attached. On the belt, there was a lasso attached, probably only used for his job. His face was masked by the black Stetson he always wore, making him look even more mysterious.

He turned a little, making the moonlight shine on a stray strand of silver hair. His appearance was breath taking- too bad he didn't have a good personality to match!

I stood there daydreaming, when he suddenly dropped something. Startled, I let out a small yelp. Vaughn, confused, stood back up, placed the object back on the table, and scanned the room. I hid my petite frame behind the wall, in fear of being seen.

Soon, he shrugged, and turned back to the drawer. I sighed in relief, and quietly started making my way towards the door.

I was pretty quiet, until I made it to the door. It was just when I opened it…

"Dling, dling!" I had completely forgotten about the small bell that rang every time the door opened!

I looked back, and saw Vaughn turning towards me, before running out as fast as I could.

* * *

If Vaughn had noticed me leave, he didn't follow me. Not that I mattered anyway.

I decided to go to Mushroom Island, one of the few places I hadn't already visited. It seemed pretty empty, apart from a few mushrooms growing here and there. I stared at the ground, thinking about what the hell happened to my life. If it weren't for that stupid thief, I wouldn't even be here!

It was only later that I looked up, to find myself surrounded by thick bushes. Had I started walking without realizing it? There were thick trees and bushes everywhere I looked, and I didn't have a clue on where to go.

I was about to sit down, when I heard a twig snap. I was dead scared. It could be a wild dog, a bear, or even a runaway murderer! I caught sight of brown hair, but when I looked again, it was gone.

"Girl lost?" came a voice behind me. I jumped, and spun around quickly.

Standing there was a man my age, possibly even a little younger than me. Well, that crossed out 2 of my theories…

He had dark skin, and even darker eyes. He was wearing some sort of tiger skin as clothing, and had a bunch of tribal lines drawn on his face in orange paint. His chestnut hair was spiked, and was held back by a thin orange string. But, what really caught my attention was the long, sharp spear in his hand.

I backed away cautiously, ignoring his question.

He patted his chest. "I, Shea, Sunny Island native. Girl's name?"

He didn't seem dangerous. At least he wasn't pointing the spear AT me- that would've made me piss my pants then and there!

He finally realized what I was staring at, and backed away quickly. "No! Night time, Shea hunt. I no hurt you!"

I finally relaxed. "Chelsea." I said. He looked at me in confusion. "My name! It's Chelsea."

He nodded. "Girl, Chelsea, lost?" he asked again.

I sighed. "Yes, I am. Do you know directions to get back to town?"

Shea nodded again. "Shea and Wada live in these woods." Then, suddenly, he grinned. "Shea help Chelee find way out!" he said excitedly.

Chelee? It's not a nickname I heard often, but I guess I could get used to it!

Shea started running. "Follow Shea!" he said. I couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm, as I followed him through the woods.

* * *

Suddenly, Shea stopped his running.

"Girl live here?" he asked. I stepped in front of him, and peered through the bush.

We were behind Pierre's house, and there before us was the rest of the town. I stepped out of the forest, Shea following behind.

"Yes, I live here." He gave me a small smile, and turned to leave, but I grabbed him by the shoulder before he could go.

"Shea? Thank you…" I said, giving him a hug. He seemed surprised, but returned the hug anyway.

He finally pulled away from me, and blushed. "Chelee come back, see Shea?" he asked.

I smiled. "Of course."

Shea started jumping up and down excitedly. "Yay! Chelee meet Wada! Bye Chelee!" he said, running back into the woods. It was hard to believe that I was afraid of him before- he was as innocent as a 6-year old! It was cute!

I happily skipped back to the Animal Shop. Being with Shea had really brightened my spirits! I opened the door to the shop, completely forgetting to be quiet, when all of a sudden, I was pushed back outside. My happiness automatically disappeared as I watched Vaughn stare at me with his cold eyes.

"Mind telling me where the hell you were?" he yelled in a whisper, if that was even possible.

I scowled. "It's not like it's any of your personal business!"

"Really? Because even you know she's blame me if she found out you went missing, and you barely even know her!"

I stood there silently, returning his hateful stare.

"Will you answer the friggin' question already?"

"Fine! I was at Mushroom Island, alright?" I whispered harshly.

He looked at me as if I said I didn't know what came after the number 1. "Are you crazy? There are wild dogs in there! You could have been killed!"

I rolled my eyes. "I bet you'd probably dancing in joy if I did die! You probably couldn't care less!"

He stepped closer to me. "And what exactly makes you think that?"

I shuddered. "If you do care for me, you certainly haven't been showing it very well!"

"That's kind of hard to do when you're always either yelling at me, or on the ground." I blushed a little at his comment, and I could've sworn I saw a small smirk on his face. Wait- why am I blushing?

"Don't smirk at me, you… you…"

Vaughn chuckled softly at my reaction. "Can't find the right words?"

I blushed harder. "Sh-Shut up…"

And he finally closed the distance between us. **(JOKE! Haha, I just couldn't help it! That was mean… That part never happened, Ok?)**

He smirked again. "Just don't talk to me anymore…" I said, before walking back to my farm…

* * *

_I'm sorry if that was too short for you all… It was maybe 100 something words, which really isn't much… Gah, I'm such a loser… _

_I really have to stop cutting things out! I really did a twist from my original version; I had no idea what the plot was, so basically it was a bunch of different bits and pieces, put in random places. It really sucked. So, I took those pieces, and used them to inspire me for the real, typed chapters. I hope you guys don't think it's too bad! And you don't mind that it's short… _

_In the original, Chelsea was supposed to be, like, fuming, and yelling her head off at the cowboy, and he's just as pissed off as her, and then she says a bunch of mean stuff, and the last phrase was supposed to be something like "But I didn't regret a single word…" Just to add suspense. But it's hard to hate a super-sexy cowboy!_

_(1) Guess what he was searching for! Maybe… a small black tool box? Too bad Chelsea dislikes him too much to see his heart event!_

_(__2) Well, actually, I just never mentioned it…_


	7. This can't be good

_To my faithful reviewers:_

_Wipe-your-tears: Oh come on! Don't you know your Vaughn? There is NO way he's kissin' Chelsea in chapter 6! Nuh uh, no sir! Uh, I mean mam…_

_ShadowEspada: Heh, at least SOMEONE agrees with me! I like this Chelsea too. She's not the type that might die of a heart attack at any second because of a sugar overload…Or maybe she is… I actually don't know… Maybe I should make her drunk in one of the later chapters or something._

_Coolestperson19: Well, it's what I do! Change is always good, right? It's nice to see something different._

_Oh, and if I'm changing POV, I'll do something special like ~:~:~:~:~:~._

_Ok, to the story!_

* * *

**Ch.7 – This can't be good…**

A sunny Friday… I swear, the weather is mocking me. I sighed, and made my way into the Mineral Town Animal shop.

"Hey, Vaughn!" Rick called out from behind the counter (1).

"What is there to do today?" I asked coldly.

Either Rick was as stupid as he looked, or he was just used to me now. "Nothing much… There's a pregnant cow I'd like you to check up on, and a new baby lamb, but apart from that…" He shrugged.

"Huh." I opened the barn doors, and went over to Maybell, the pregnant cow.

"Don't worry, Maybell, you're doing fine." I said, while feeling the lump in her stomach. "By the looks of it, you'll have your baby in about 3 weeks. I hope I'll be there for it."

Maybell mooed happily. She sounded almost relieved. It must have been tiring, carrying that baby.

I wonder what it would be like to be a dad. I never really had one of my own. I sighed. If I even got over that one girl from my childhood, it would be a miracle. But somehow, I feel like I'm still going to see her again… (2) Goddess, I can't even remember her name, now. How stupid is that? Ok, focus!

Once I was done with Maybell's check up, I moved on to the sheep's stalls. Sure enough, a small, white lamb was waiting for me.

I was brushing the little fluff ball, when a voice sounded beside me. "You know, we haven't named it yet." Surprised, I turned to see Ann.

She was wearing an orangish-yellowish shirt, covered by blue overall. As usual, her long, orange hair was in a braid.

Ann giggled. "I wanted to name it, but Rick doesn't think it's a good name. I want to name it Lambert."

I cringed at the name. "You do realize it's a female, right?"

Ann laughed. "Yeah, at first I wanted to name her Vaughnie. Rick said you'd killed me if I named her that. Then we found out it was a girl, so that was definitely off the list."

"… You wanted to name it… Vaughnie?" I said with disgust. "Out of all the names in the world, you wanted to name it… Vaughnie…?"

"Oh cowboy, don't get so grouchy…" she kneeled down beside me, and took my hat. As if that would make me any less grouchy…

I grumbled for her to give it back, but she ignored me, as she brushed away a few strands of my hair.

"There are your eyes!" she said happily.

"You stole my hat… just so you could see my eyes…?" It was more of a statement then a question.

"Yep! They're so pretty…" Ann said dreamily. She giggled. "You know, Vaughn, you're different then other guys…"

I snickered. "Yeah, I get that a lot…" I said coolly.

"No, not like that! In a **good** way!" Ann explained.

I didn't know what to say anymore. No one had ever told me something like that before.

"Ok, where's this going to, Ann?" I grumbled, starting to get annoyed.

"I'm just saying that… well… the moment I set eyes on you, I knew you would be different then other men, but… I sort of… like that difference…" she said, blushing. "Question is… do you like… what you see… in me?"

Oh Goddess… One of the few people I did get along with, and now… Oh, screw this.

"I'm flattered, but… I'm just… I just don't like you that way."

"Oh, really?" Ann asked, obviously disappointed. "So who's the lucky one?" she asked.

"What 'lucky one'?" I asked.

"Well, come on! You couldn't have turned me down for no reason! There's gotta be another girl implicated!"

I arched a brow. "First of all, it's actually not that hard of a decision to turn you down or not, second, there's no girl included in this. Got it?"

"Pfft! I don't believe you, but that's alright. Let me guess, is it… Tina, that girl from Flowerbud?"

"Uh… no?"

"Claire?"

"Nope."

"Jill?"

"Sorry."

"Oh, I get it…" Ann said suddenly. "You're gay!" (3)

"No I'm not gay!" I retorted. The nerve of her…

Ann laughed. "I was joking!"

"Humph…" I continued brushing the young lamb, or "Lambert", as it was now baptized.

"I will find out who that girl is, though, trust me. Someday, I will know!" Ann cried out, as she finally left me alone with my work.

~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

"Hey Chelsea!" I looked up from my crops to see Gannon walking up to me.

"Hey Gannon! What's up?" Gannon might've looked scary from the outside, but he was actually a marshmallow on the inside. Kind of like a bulldog, now that I think of it…

"Well, I do when I have the time, which is… not very often… Why?"

"Well, I was thinkin'…well, since you're a newer rancher, you might not be makin' too much money, and…" Gannon scratched the back of his head. "Well, I was wonderin' if maybe you'd like to start raising chickens!"

"R-Really?" I was surprised at how excited I was, especially since I didn't even want to become a farmer in the first place.

"Well, yeah, I mean, I know ya probably can't afford a chicken coop yet, but if you have enough lumber, I'll be happy to build ya one for free."

"Seriously? Oh my gosh, that's great!" I squealed. "How much lumber do I need?"

"Only 100 pieces." Gannon said, and my face fell a little. "How much do ya have?"

"I-I've got about 20 pieces… Which isn't much, is it?" I sighed.

"It's alright, Chelsea. When you get enough lumber, you can just tell me, and I'll start building!" Gannon said.

"Alright, goodbye!" I said, my happiness now restored.

I waited 'till he was gone before jumping up and down excitedly.

"Yes! A CHICKEN! YES!" I yelled, before exploding in maniacal laughter.

* * *

Once I finished with my crops, I went back into the mainland. Most people had grown to like me now (although I can't imagine why). It was too early to really go visit someone, so I decided to go back to Mystic Islands.

I sat in front of the spring, and sighed. I could see the sunrise's reflection in the water. It was beautiful. I bent over a little, and looked in deeper.

Wait… it looked as if there was something at the bottom of the spring… Without noticing, I had bent down even more, and before I knew what was even happening-

"**SPLASH!" **

I tried swimming back to the surface, and my lungs were starting to ache for air. But it felt as if something was dragging me down, as if the more I tried to get back out, the deeper I sunk.

Exhausted, I finally stopped trying, as I sunk down deeper into the pond… (4)

* * *

I opened my eyes, and was surprised to find that I could breathe. The air smelled sweet… Like strawberries…

"Wait, where am I?" I asked out loud.

"Tadaa!" came a voice. The voice was melodic, and gentle at once. It made you alert and relax at the same time… if that was even possible…

I searched around to find where the voice came from, but was instead met with plain nothingness. No joke; everything was white, and there was no sign of nature. It felt like being in a giant empty white box.

"I am the Harvest Goddess." The voice sounded again.

"Uh…" I was starting to get a little freaked out now. "Show yourself?" I sounded more like a question then an order, but I must've said the right words.

Right before me, a shape started to materialize. Soon, the shape became a figure, and the features grew more obvious. It was a woman, with long braided green hair, and wearing robes made of baby blue silk. She had two (hair) buns on each side of her head, which were held by a ring of moondrops and toy flowers.

"Uh… hello?" I said.

The woman opened her eyes. They were a bright emerald, prettier then any other I had seen.

"Hello, Chelsea."

I froze. "Uh… How do you know my name?"

The woman laughed. Her laugh sounded like a chime of bells. "I am the Harvest Goddess!" she repeated. "I know everything."

Yep, it's official. I've gone completely mental.

"Ok then… So why am I here?" I asked, unsure I even wanted to know the reason.

"Well, due to your clumsiness, you fell into my pond, and started drowning…" the "Harvest Goddess" said, sighing.

"Which brings me back to the question, Miss Goddess: Why am I here?" I was started to get a little annoyed with this lady.

"Well, let's face it. You're dead."

Wow. Wait a second…

"Heaven looks pretty boring…" I said. "Pretty big letdown, isn't it, Miss Goddess."

The woman laughed again. "Please, call me Sephia. (5)" she said. "And you're not really dead."

This woman just contradicted what she just said before! I'm obviously not the only mental one here…

"So, I'm dead, but I'm not dead. Sheesh, make up your mind already!" All of a sudden, I felt heat rush through my body, forcing me to think… happy… thoughts…

"Oh please, you have emotion-shifting powers too? Why don't I have any of those?" I wailed.

The Goddess- Sephia – sighed. "Maybe I should've just let you die after all…" she mumbled. "Anyway, I had to save you because I'm the Harvest Goddess and all, and it's just what I do, and also because the Harvest God thinks you have a pure heart."

"Oh great, there's a Harvest God, too? Now you're going to tell me that the Witch Princess is a real witch!"

Sephia was silent.

I scowled. "I should have known…"

"Anyway, he thinks that your heart is pure, and that you can help the islands be at peace."

"Oh? And how do I do that?" I asked, without interest.

"You must find all the harvest sprites."

"The what now?"

"The harvest sprites." Sephia repeated.

"Which is…?"

"Little elf things."

"Oh. So how many are there?"

"101 in total."

"What?" I yelled. "There is no way in hell that I'm finding 101 fairy thingies just so the island will be in so called 'peace'. Go find someone else!"

I stood up, and started walking to nowhere in particular.

"Did I mention you're the only one that can see them?" I froze, and spun back around.

"So you can't choose anyone else?"

The Goddess shook her head. "There was some other farmer before, whose name was Jack. He could see them too."

Hmm… Didn't I have a cousin named Jack?

"Yes, you did." Sephia answered my thoughts. Great, she can read minds too. Why am I not surprised?

"Anyway, he found 62 sprites, and saved me from another dimension, which that stupid witch sent me too, but before he could finish, he died in a fire."

"He did?" Why didn't anyone tell me these things?

"Yes, he did. Which means you still have to save… (6) 39 sprites!" she said.

"And what happens if I say no?" I asked, shooting her a glare.

She returned my glare. "I've been keeping this island together for the last decade, but even the Harvest God has noticed that I'm losing strength."

"Weak." I mumbled under my breath. I swear, if looks could kill, I'd be dead a long time ago. "So what happens if you lose all your strength?"

"Simple. You all die."

Oh. That's not good…

"No duh, Sherlock!" Sephia said, rolling her eyes. Shoot, I forgot about the mind reading thingie…

"And what if I still say no, and decide to move out of the country?"

Sephia gave me a look of disgust. "First of all, this isn't a country."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever!"

"Second of all, you're stuck here for community service for 5 years."

I swore quietly to myself.

"And third, I could always just let you drown right now."

"Pfft, good luck finding a new sprite whisperer." I said sarcastically.

"I have no idea how the Harvest God sees a pure heart in you…" she said, wrinkling her nose. "But I don't like you."

I laughed. "Welcome to the club."

And all of a sudden, with a flash of blinding light, I was back on Mystic Island, beside the Goddess Pond, my clothes dry, and completely un-dead.

Then, as soon as I had celebrated the fact that I was alive again, a bright light surrounded me again. Curse me if I fell back into that pond.

* * *

_Wow, that turned out really different then I expected it too turn out. She was supposed to have lost a bit of the attitude, and become friends with the Goddess. Although I do like this one better…_

_I don't know how I ended up mixing in sprites with all this. I wasn't going to originally, but heck with that, right? And guess what? Now, you'll even be able to have a piece of Finn next chapter, the adorable sprite companion from Harvest Moon ToT/AP! I couldn't resist… He's just too cute!_

_Yay! Long-ish chapter!_

_Anyway, read and review!_

* * *

_(1) I don't have FoMT or MFoMT, so I don't know if he has a counter or not…_

_(2) I can just imagine Chelsea waving her hand in front of his face going "Hello? I'm standing right here!"_

_(3) I most certainly hope not…_

_(4) This part was not in my draft, so I really hope it turns out as good…_

_(5) That's the Goddess' name in Animal Parade. I thought it suited her._

_(6) I was too lazy to do the math on my own, so I used a calculator instead, LOL…_


	8. Pantless Killer Badgers

_Sorry I didn't answer any reviews, Fanfic is momentarily screwed up… again… Oh, and the title is a mix of the events that happen in the chapter! I thought it was funny, but then again, my humor is different then a normal person's sense of humor... Anywho, I hope you enjoy seeing Finn!_

_For some reason, I felt like listing the songs I was listening to while writing this… Don't ask why._

_-Go away – 2NE1  
__-Clap your hands – 2NE1  
__-Kiss – Sandara Park  
__-Breakeven – The Script (I might just make a songfic about that one)  
__-E.T – Katy Perry  
__- I gotta feeling – Black Eyed Peas  
__-Teenage Dream – Glee  
__-Animal – Neon Trees  
__-Don't talk to strangers – Hedley_

_Ok, enjoy the chapter!_

* * *

**Ch.8 – Pantless Killer Badgers...**

The light suddenly became dimmer, and luckily for me, I was still on Mystic Islands. Thank Goddess I didn't fall into that pond again! No wait- don't thank the Goddess… I'll have to find a new catch phrase…

"Hi! My name is Finn! Thank you for saving me!"

"Meh?" I looked back in front of me and saw some miniature person with green hair and orange clothing.

"Uh… how'd I do that?" I asked.

"Uh… I don't know…" The elf thingie said, placing his finger on his chin in thought.

He then shrugged. "But it doesn't matter! I'm going to be your sprite guidance from now on!"

"… What?" This guy was creepy.

Finn sighed. "I'm going to guide you along the way of your life."

"… Stalker…" I muttered, but Finn didn't hear me. He was already flying away, with his miniature little wings.

* * *

The next day, when I woke up, I went outside to do my usual chores.

"Hi, Chelsea…" said a drowsy voice.

"KYAAAAAA!" I shrieked, and spun around quickly. There, sitting on the long green grass, was that fairy again, Finn.

"What are you still doing here?" I yelled.

Finn rubbed his eyes.

"I got locked out, and when I banged the window to try and get you to let me in *yawn*, you were out like a light…"

Aw, the poor guy! Maybe now he'll stop stalking me…

I walked over to my crops, and suddenly realized that my turnips had sprouted. "YEEEEEES! YEAAAH!" I cheered.

"Yaaaaay! You did it!" Finn cheered too. I was too happy to tell him to shut up.

"I AM NOT A COMPLETE FAILURE!" I yelled.

"Chelsea, why are you yelling…?" Taro hobbled over. When did he get here?

"Taro, I'm not a complete failure! My crops sprouted!" I showed him.

"That's great Chelsea, but you didn't have to scream it on the rooftops… I'm sure I wasn't the only one you woke up…"

I blushed a little. "Sorry…" I muttered.

Finn flew onto his shoulder. "He's wrinkly…" he said in disgust, then gasped in alarm. "Is it contagious?"

I giggled a little at Finn's innocence, which made Taro frown.

"I don't see what's so funny, Chelsea." He scolded.

"I'm sorry, Taro. I just thought of something funny."

Taro relaxed. "If you're so happy about this, then why don't you come over to our house for breakfast to celebrate?"

I smiled genuinely. "Thanks, Taro! I'll be there at 10:00am."

"Why so late?" The old man asked.

"Because." I said matter-of-factly. "Natalie would kill me if I woke her up any earlier."

Taro nodded, and left.

"Why are you so nice to them, and not to me?" the little fairy asked sadly.

I turned to him. "Because I don't see them stalking me everywhere, do you?"

Finn lowered his head. "I'm only trying to help you…"

"Help me my ass! All you're doing is getting me annoyed!" I yelled.

Finn sniffed, and started crying.

I scoffed, and went to water my plants. I smiled as I worked. Maybe I should grow some potatoes too… I still had time, right? What was the day today again…? It's a Saturday today, and it's been about 1 week since I got here (1). Which meant… that it was spring 6th? No, no, spring 7th.

Which reminded me, soon it would be Monday, and Vaughn would be back… oh glory… Gah! I have **got** to stop thinking of that stupid Vaughn! Lately, the cowboy had been practically invading my thoughts! Grr… Why did he have to be so darn interesting and mysterious? … And handsome…

Only then did I notice that I had watered the same turnip sprout about 5 times. Oops…

* * *

After **FINALLY **finishing my watering chore, I went over to Taro's house. I was still a little early, but I don't think they'd mind.

"Natalie! Get back here!" (2)

"Not until you prank call Vaughn!"

"But he'll kill me!"

"Well then, I'll be at your funeral!"

Ah, a typical brother-sister conversation. Thank the Goddess that I am an only child! No, stop thanking that evil maniac! Grr…

Just then, Natalie ran down the (imaginary) stairs… (3)… holding a pair of jeans…

"Natalie, just give me my freaking pants back!"

Down the stairs came Elliot… pant less… Seeing me, he turned a dark crimson.

Natalie burst out laughing. "S-Sorry Elliot!" she stuttered through her laughs. "I-I didn't know Chelsea w-was h-here! Hahahahahahaha!"

Elliot glared at his younger sister. "Natalie, just give me my fucking pants back…"

* * *

After Elliot finally got his pants on (thank the Goddess! Argh! I have **got **to stop saying that!), we all sat at the table, and ate breakfast. And man, can Felicia cook!

There were fruit sandwiches (Natalie's favorite), Elli Leaves (Taro's favorite) and French toast, plus eggs! We also had orange juice, freshly squeezed that morning (**my **favorite). It was great!

"Remember, Chelsea, you are free to come back whenever you'd like." Felicia reminded me.

"Yeah, Ok!" I said happily. "Just… next time, make sure Elliot keeps his pants on…"

* * *

"Hey Julia!" I called as I walked into the Animal Shop. As usual, Julia was staring at the kitchen table.

She snapped back to attention. "Oh, hi Chelsea!"

She walked up beside me, and smiled. "Hey Chelsea, I feel like I'm forgetting something…" she said.

"Um… you mean the fact that you were supposed to go to Animal Island with me right now?" I asked, smirking.

"Oh yeeeeeeah…" Julia said dumbly.

I rolled my eyes. What a blond!

* * *

We got to Animal Island, and I put a carrot into the food dish. Bunnies, mice, and badgers came out of the bushes.

All of a sudden, a blinding white light flashed. Oh boy, not again…

The light died out, and there in front of me stood another tiny elf. This one was dressed in red.

"My name is Cherry! Thank you for saving me, Chelsea! I'll be useful, and give you my help!"

And just like that, he disappeared.

"Uh, Chelsea? Are you alright?" I shook my head. Julia was waving her hand in front of my face.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I said quietly.

"Oh, good, 'cause you like, zoned out there!" Julia said, in her usual cheerful voice.

"Yeah…" I honestly started doubting if I were completely alright too.

A black badger walked up a little closer, and Julia started freaking out. "Eeeeep! A badger?"

"Calm down, Julia." Ok, so if I were mental, I definitely wasn't the one with the worse case…

"They're gonna eat meeeeeeee!" she yelled, before running around in circles, screaming. Then, she tripped, and fell to ground. She started crying. "They're gonna eat me…!"

Just then, a worried little badger came up and snuggled itself right beside Julia, which made her scream even louder. "I'm gonna die…" she said through muffled sobs.

"Julia, you're not going to die."

"Yes, I am!" she yelled. She stopped crying for a minute. "Chelsea? *sniff* Could you do me a favor?"

"Uh… sure?"

"Chelsea, please give my will to my mother? It's in my nightstand, beside my bed." She asked.

I gave her a perplexed look. "You… have a will?" It was more of a statement then a question.

Julia blushed a little. "Yeah, just in case something like this happened." She explained. The little badger scooted closer, and Julia let out a girly shriek.

I laughed a little, but Julia looked back at me, with worry in her eyes. "And, Chelsea, please remember… to tell Elliot that I love him…"

I started chuckling, then doubled over laughing.

"What's so funny?" Julia asked.

I tried to stop my laughing. "It's just… well… You and Elliot? Haha! Who would have guessed?"

Julia pouted. "It's not funny… Just… tell him for me, alright?"

I sighed, and picked up the tiny badger. Julia immediately jumped up.

"Oh my Goddess! Chelsea, you saved me!" She bear-hugged (4) me, but then jumped back, realizing that the badger was still in my arms.

"Eep! It's the bloodsucker…!" she squealed.

I sighed, and walked over to a stump, in the corner. As I sat down…

"Ouch!"

Sitting there was Cherry, the harvest sprite I "rescued" earlier. I stood back up. "Sorry. Didn't know you were sitting there."

"Hmm… Apology accepted… Anyway, that's not why I came here."

"Oh?" I was curious now.

"Well, I asked the animals earlier if they could maybe get you some stuff. I didn't know what exactly you'd want, so I asked the ducks to get you some stuff."

"Oh, really now? What did they get me?" I asked. It was nice of those ducks to do something for me like that.

Sparkles flew around the little sprite thingie, and some items started appearing before me.

There was a large fish, a medium fish, three small fish, and a fish bone.

I grabbed all the items, excluding the fish bone. That was just plain trash.

"Thanks, Charty."

"I-It's Cherry."

"Ok, if you say so."

I turned back and walked over to Julia, who was still glaring at all the badgers. "I could've sworn he blinked…" she muttered, then she noticed me.

"Oh, hey Chelsea! I was just making sure the badger didn't… didn't… Eep!"

"What now?" I asked, raising my brow.

"It's a fish! Eeeeeeeew!" she shrieked.

'Oh boy…' I thought, as I shook my head. "What's so bad about fish?" I asked without interest.

"It's… It's…! It's slimy!" she cringed.

"If you say so."

"B-But it might slime my hair!" she whined, twirling the golden locks that were loose from her ponytail. That gave me an idea… I put on my evil face, and walked up closer to her, holding the large fish like a weapon.

"C-Chelsea?" she shuddered. "W-What are you doing?"

I walked closer, brandishing the fish like a knife. "I'm coming to get you…!" I said in my scariest voice.

"N-No! Chelsea, you wouldn't! After all we've been for each other!"

I chuckled a little, and lowered the fish. "Sheesh, Julia, I was only going to tease you!" I said.

Julia seemed to relax a little, but suddenly, the small little badger ran in front of me, making me trip. And, of course, the fish just happened to land in Julia's hair. Nice.

Julia shrieked, shaking her head like crazy, trying to get the fish off of her head… even if it was already on the ground. "It's sliming up my hair! Eep!"

All the animals froze, trying to find out where the sound was coming from.

"Get it off, get it off, get it off!" Julia shrieked.

And all I did was chuckle, and watch.

* * *

_EDITED!_

_I think the ending was kind of boring, but I liked the chapter… even if Vaughn wasn't in it… It's just, well… You know he's only here two days a week, so what happens the rest of the time, right? _

_I guess the reason I made this chapter was too highlight the growing friendship between Chelsea and the other villagers, and to let the other readers get to know Chelsea. I'm sorry if you didn't like it, but… please review anyway!_

* * *

(1) I know… all that stuff happened in just 1 week…

(2) Can you believe it? Natalie is up before 10 o' clock! It's a miracle! Actually though, it's not that surprising if she's up to prank Elliot like that…

(3) Yes, now Taro's house has two stories. Tadaaaaaa!

(4) Hee hee! I'm making an animal reference! Tee hee!


	9. Glad to be alive

**Ch.9 – Glad to be alive…**

I awoke to the sound of a door opening.

"Julia, she's awake!" Wait… That was Mirabelle's voice… Where am I?

I looked at my surroundings.

The bed I was in was in a corner of the room. It was just plain white, nothing too special. Beside was a nightstand, with a small red alarm clock, and a picture of Julia and Vaughn together.

I smiled at the picture. Julia was hugging Vaughn's waist, and Vaughn was trying to get her off. They looked about 18 or 19 years old. (1)

Beside the nightstand was a wooden desk, with some paperwork spread all over it. Other then those, and a dresser, the room was practically empty, but more or less clean.

"Chelsea! Chelsea, you're alive!" I had no time to react, when Julia pounced on me, and squeezed me in a bear hug.

"J-Julia… Can't… breathe…!" I managed to say.

Julia let go of me. "Oops…" she shrugged. "Sorry!"

I looked around again. "Where on Earth am I? (2)" I asked.

Julia gasped in horror. "Oh no! You lost your memory!"

I sighed, and rolled my eyes. How could someone be so stupid? "Uh, Julia? I've never been here before." I reminded her.

It was as if a light bulb appeared over her head. "Oh yeah…" she said dumbly. Then she perked up again. "Oh my Goddess, Chelsea, you still remember my name!" Ok, cross that; a _shattered_ light bulb.

"Ok, Julia, you still haven't answered my questions! Where am I, and what am I doing here?"

Julia pulled her hair in frustration. "Ugh! This is like a super-hard math quiz!"

Oh boy…

Mirabelle decided to step in. She sat beside me, on the bed. "Chelsea, sweetheart, you overworked yourself yesterday, and fainted on the farm."

Great. My second week of farming, and I've already passed out. Nice going, Chelsea.

"Ok, so that's one of my questions answered. Now where am I?" I asked.

"You're in my room." Said a gruff voice.

Oh shit… And, of course, leaning against the doorway was Vaughn, the most dreaded cowboy in the entire universe! Ok, maybe I'm overdoing it…

"Lay off, Vaughn! She freaking passed out!" Julia came to my defense.

Vaughn glared at me. "Well then, maybe she should've been more careful."

You could practically see the smoke coming from Julia's ears. While I was content with just glaring at him, and imagining different ways to kill him without getting suspected, Julia stood up, and stomped up to him. She raised her hand. Oh, goodie, Vaughn deserved a good slap!

But right when Julia's hand should have made contact with Vaughn's skin, Vaughn grabbed her arm.

"Ugh! Let… me… go!" she yelled, trying to free herself from the man's grasp.

Vaughn let go, and Julia backed quickly away, rubbing her wrist where red marks were already starting to appear.

"Vaughn! I hate you!" she yelled, as she ran out of the room.

Mirabelle sighed. "She'll be fine in an hour, but I should check on her, just in case." She said, as she followed her daughter.

Which left Vaughn and I. Alone.

He sat on a chair in front of the desk, and sighed. "Maybe now she'll leave me alone."

I could feel my anger boiling. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

He looked up at me. "Huh. Déjà vu."

"No, I'm serious! What on Earth is your problem?"

"… You say the word Earth a lot…"

"Argh!" This guy frustrates me so much! "Why can't you just be normal, like everyone else, instead of making it your life's mission to hate me?" I yelled.

"… My life's mission? Seriously?" he asked, with a small smirk on that stupidly perfect face of his. Gah! Don't think stuff like that!

"You know what? It's not even worth it. You're not even worth arguing with, because no matter what I say, I can't win."

"Sorry if you haven't realized by now, but life isn't fair. So, you can't win every time. Deal with it." He said coldly.

This took me by shock. He was so indifferent of what I was saying, and then suddenly… I just sat there gapping at him.

"Stop doing that. It makes me feel like you're ogling me."

I quickly looked away. Since, I kind of was, in a way… "How come is it that whenever we talk, I always end up yelling at you?" I asked.

Vaughn shrugged. "Dunno." Then he smiled. "It kind of reminds me of this girl I used to know."

I froze, for two reasons. 1) Vaughn smiled, and not those stupid smirks, but as in the corners of his mouth turned upwards type of smile, and 2), and more importantly, he mentioned a girl from his past.

And last time I checked, **I** was a **girl**. (3) Also, **I **just happened to be a girl that appeared in that man's past.

***Flashback!***

"Vaughn, why do you have to be so stoopid? (4)" A younger version of me yelled, as Vaughn jumped off of the tree by the orphanage window. "You could have gotten seriously hurt!"

Vaughn looked amused. "So you don't like my company?"

"I never said that! But couldn't you have possibly used the door instead of climbing out the window?"

"And risk getting caught? No thanks." Vaughn said, and started walking away, towards the park.

I ran to follow him. "But you know that you'd be in even more trouble, had they found out you had gotten hurt trying to escape!"

Vaughn just smirked, as I babbled on.

"And have you ever thought about me? My parents would be extremely disappointed in me, and would send me off to a boarding school! You shan't be so selfish, Vaughn!"

He chuckled.

"It isn't funny! Would you rather stay in that miserable excuse of an orphanage alone, without me? I know you wouldn't like it! Do not even attempt to protest! I- HEY!" I suddenly yelled, as he ruffled up my hair.

"Oh, Chelsea…" he laughed. "What would I ever do without you?"

* * *

"Ok, just because I said you remind me of someone, doesn't mean you have to stare at me like that."

I suddenly came back to reality. I blushed, and turned my head away so he wouldn't see. Too late- the smirk on his face gave it away.

"I'm truly sorry, I didn't mean to offend you- I mean, uh…" Stupid accent… Bad habits die hard…

Vaughn was looking at me strangely, as if I were wearing panties on my head. "I'll just ignore that…"

I blushed again. "Good idea…" I muttered.

* * *

_I think I should have made it longer, but it's way too early… 1:51am. Yippee… Ugh, so tired…_

_Did you like the flashback? I thought it was cute, but of course, it's not my opinion that counts!_

_Oh, and thanks to xLazyXChibix for being my 30__th__ reviewer! Yay! Keep those reviews coming; you know how much I love them!_

.o0o.

_(1) Julia and Vaughn, and most of the other characters too are in their twenties. Or, at least, in thus story they are._

_(2) I just thought of this now; do Harvest Moon characters even live on Earth?_

_(3) Or at least, I hope…_

_(4) Chelsea used to have an English accent, although for some reason, she's gotten a bit more American. So that's how I found it sounds, with an English accent. It's so cute… _


	10. Chopping wood

**_Ch.10 - Chopping wood..._**

* * *

_OMG, first chapter off the script! YAY! Although, I admit, most things were completely different from the way they were supposed to be, the draft still gave me ideas, like the sleepover, and having her pass out, and whatnot._

_So, I guess what I'm TRYING to say is that I'm officially making this up as I go, and I'm super sorry if it sucks… By the way, please know that you are -always allowed to suggest anything! _

_Ok, let's just get this over with as quick as possible…_

_kt the emo said she (or he…LOL) was a little confused. So, for her, and other silent confused readers, I will try to recap as good as I can…_

_So, Chelsea did something (shoplifted, as mentioned in the first chapter, but I haven't yet decided on anything else really…) that got her in trouble, and to prevent going to jail, she was forced to do community service; in this case, farm on/help save Sunshine Islands for a number of years (specifically, 5)._

_Then, when she gets there, she sees Vaughn, who reminds her (and actually is) of a childhood friend. Anyway, turns out he don't like her too much… Figures, knowing Vaughn…_

_Then, skipping a few not so important parts, she ends up passed out on her farm. Julia and Mirabelle take her to their house as she rests, unfortunately the same day Vaughn is coming to the islands… So he gets kind of pissed off and cranky. Julia tries to slap him, but he catches her hand before she can, and she runs out, blah blah blah, and he and Chelsea get into a fight. Then, Vaughn mentions how their arguing reminded him a bit of how he used to argue with a girl he used to know; which makes Chelsea have a small flashback. _

_That's about it. If you have questions about anything, you can always ask them in the reviews._

_Oh, and by the way, sorry I'm a week late… oops…_

_OK, now to REALLY start…_

* * *

After a bit of an awkward time span, Mirabelle declared I was officially healthy. Yippee…

I walked towards my farm, groaning as I thought of the work I'd have to do after one day unconscious. I went across the bridge, and discovered, to my surprise, that a certain blonde farmer had already done my farm work for me.

"Mark?" I asked, once I was done gapping. Finn flew over nervously, probably afraid I'd hit him, or something.

"I-I made him come over." The orange sprite said shyly. "I sent him a message through his mind, telling him to check on you."

I felt the corners of my mouth turn upwards, but tried hard not to keep them that way. Because, as much as I wanted to deny it, I felt a surge of gratitude towards the small elf.

I brushed by without a word over to Mark. He smiled as I sat beside him.

"You know, it's a lot harder to take care of two farms then I thought." He said.

"Well, sucks to be you." I smiled.

He looked at me, his face full of concern. "I heard what happened… Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." I reassured him. "What about you? I haven't seen you in a bit."

"I've been farming." He stretched his arms. "It really takes out your energy."

"Yeah, I know. I'm a farmer too now, remember?"

"Really?" Mark looked me up and down. "Hmm… You sure don't look like it." He lifted up one of my arms. "See?" he asked. "All jello!"

I elbowed him, laughing. "You're not too much better, so I wouldn't be talking."

He laughed along with me. "You just haven't seen my abs yet. Then, you'll regret saying that!"

I smirked. "I don't think stomach flab is considered abs."

"I have muscle!"

"Prove it then."

"Fine, I will!" Mark said, as he started unbuckling his overalls.

I covered my eyes. "Ew! Mark, don't!"

Too late.

"Don't worry, I'm not flashing anything!"

I slowly took my hands off my eyes, and eyed him carefully. He did have a 6-pack, like he claimed.

"You know, I've seen better. Now put your clothes back on."

Mark laughed, and re-buckled his overalls. "I'm sure you don't really think that. I bet you were trying so hard not to drool!"

"Sure I did."

"I **know **you did."

* * *

Well, after that, Mark went back to Forget-Me-Not. "I want to buy my first chicken." he had told me. Speaking of chicken, I had better get some lumber for my own bird shed, shouldn't I? Surprisingly, although I knew it would be a lot of work, I really was excited to have a chicken. I decided to go chop some wood for lumber, since I didn't really have anything else to do.

I walked around my farm plot, trying to remember how much lumber I needed. Hmm... Oh yeah, that's right!

My mission: 20 pieces of lumber, going on 100.

I took my axe out of my rucksack, and tried to simply hold it straight. It was really heavy, so it was hard to keep my balance. "Alright... You can... do this, Chelsea..." I said.

When I finally seemed to catch my balance, I marched over to a medium sized branch. "You think you're so tough, huh?" I jeered at the branch. "Wait 'til my axe slices you in half!"

I swung my axe. It was a good swing; it landed in the middle of the branch, which split in two. I was about to start cheering victoriously, when suddenly...

"Aaaaaah!" Looks like that branch was out for revenge...

I fell down to the ground. I squeezed my eyes shut, expecting a burst of pain from landing on the axe... But none came.

"Oof!" I landed on the ground right beside my dreaded weapon. I stared at my axe in fear. "I don't like you very much, Mr. Axe..."

It continued like that for a while. I swung, and fell to the ground, barely missing the blade of my axe. Curse this thing for being so heavy... I'd have to remember to ask Gannon for a lighter axe...

"What the hell are you doing?"

Curse my luck... I could easily recognize that voice.

"Vaughn... Get off my property."

The cowboy just crossed his arms, and stood his ground.

I scowled at him. "You look like a kid when you do that."

"It isn't much better then what you were just doing." He remarked.

"Idiot..." I grumbled. "I said get off my property."

He lifted his chin defiantly. "Make me."

I growled. "Oh, I will."

A snicker in response. "I'd like to see you try."

"Oh, you will..."

I stood up, and grabbed the axe beside me. Trying hard to keep my balance (and not fall over...), I walked up right in front of him. "I'll give you 'til the count of three", I warned, "to get out of my sight, or else this blade might cut off a limb or two."

Out of all the things he could have done - run away, scream for help - he did the unexpected.

His face showed no sign of fear, as he grabbed the top of the axe's handle. I struggled to get my weapon loose from his grip, but he held on tight, and refused to give in. "Let... go!"

"Do you want to know why I'm not afraid of you?" he asked.

I was stupefied, trying to find something to say, my mouth flapping open and shut like a fish.

"I'm not afraid of you because I know that you wouldn't be able to survive guilt." he said, coming in closer to my face.

And so I swung my axe and cut off his head. **(JOKE! Joke, joke, joke, that did NOT happen, LOL!)**

"Wh-What do you mean?" I asked, knowing my face was red from the small space between us two. He was so close, that I could easily push my axe into his chest, and watch him die. But I didn't. (1)

"Tell me the truth, Chelsea. Would you be able to kill me now, and not feel guilty of your actions? Most likely, the guilt would kill you too afterwards."

"I-I..." I was speechless. How could he just say something like that, and be so... so... Grr! (2)

"You're an idiot." I muttered.

"I know." He said, as he finally backed away.

"So can you tell me now why you were here? Well… are here?" I asked, trying to balance the axe on my shoulder. It just slipped out of my hands, making me jump.

"Be more careful! And Mirabelle sent me here. She wanted me to check on you, because you fainted, and she was worried about your health."

"Oh…" I felt a little guilty now, and suddenly found my boots beyond interesting… "That was… nice of her…"

I knew Vaughn was watching me. He's kind of freaking me out now…

"You know, if you want to chop wood, there's this place in the forest by Mushroom Island that's full of trees you can chop."

I looked around my field. I was running out of branches, but… branches, trees. There's a BIG difference.

"Um… O-Ok… Where is it?" I asked, still uncertain.

Vaughn walked away without answering. Um… I thought he was going to help me?

He stopped. "Are you coming, or not?"

I hurried over beside him.

* * *

I won't even ask when a bridge was built for Mushroom Island… (3)

Vaughn walked into the forest, and I had to practically jog to keep up with his long strides.

"Are we *pant pant* almost… there?" I asked.

Vaughn rolled his eyes. "Almost."

We were still walking (well… he was walking, I was jogging to keep up), when, suddenly, Vaughn pushed me behind him.

"Hey, what the hell? I thought you were helping me find-" My voice was muffled as he covered my mouth with his hand.

He placed his finger against his lips in sign to keep quiet.

I shut up, and tried to see why he was acting so cautious. But there, in front of us… was a wild dog… eating goddess knows what. There was blood smeared on some of its fur, as it finished off its kill.

"Careful", Vaughn whispered, "I can tell it's still hungry."

I shivered. I never thought I would die this young…

"You're not going to die…" Vaughn muttered. Mind reader…

We tried walking as quietly as we could, but it looked like we appeared at the wrong time… The wild dog finished its meal, and started searching for a new prey… aka, us. Once it set eyes on us, I could've sworn I saw an evil grin appear on its face.

I gulped. "If anything happens to us, I'm blaming it all on you…" I whispered.

"Hey, you're the one carrying an axe. I could just say you went absolutely nuts. They just might believe me…"

The villagers wouldn't believe him… But the police might. Besides, I already have enough on my criminal record.

The dog slowly came closer. And closer. And closer. He was only a few feet away from us now. Vaughn pushed me further behind him.

Wait- after all the times we were mean to each other, why was he protecting me instead of running away yelling "See ya, sucker!"? Oh yeah; it's Vaughn we're talking 'bout here. He is definitely **NOT** your average person.

The dog pounced. I knew this now; we were doomed. Vaughn was going to die. I would run away screaming. I was counting down the seconds now. 4… 3… 2…

Wait, what the hell just happened? Vaughn wasn't on the ground, but still standing protectively in front of me. In fact, the dog was on the ground, wrestling with… something… They were rolling around too fast for me to be able to see.

I watched the blur of the fight, when someone- either the dog, or whoever was fighting it – let out a cry of pain.

Vaughn pushed me back behind his back. Oh come on! I've watched movies rated over PG! I could handle this!

"Yummy! Dinner for Shea!" That was Shea? Shea was wrestling that dog? Holy shit… I hope, for my safety, that I'll never get Shea angry…

I started walking closer, but Vaughn forced me behind him. "Don't. He's a savage. He might hurt you."

"Shea isn't a savage!" I yelled. "Don't judge him! He's been nicer to me then you have!"

Vaughn muttered something I didn't hear. I didn't care.

I ran up to Shea, and hugged him tightly. "Shea… Thank you…" I felt a tear slip down my cheek. I hadn't realized how afraid I was 'til now.

"Chelee… it alright. You safe. Shea save you. Shea eat it for dinner."

By now I was laughing and crying at the same time, both in relief, and in happiness. "Thank you Shea…"

Shea patted my back, but looked up to see Vaughn still standing there, giving him the evil eye.

"Who's that old grumpy human person?" he asked innocently.

I giggled, and Vaughn's glare went colder. "Shea," I whispered, "you don't say that about people."

Shea looked at me with a confused look. "But why? Shea just tell truth!"

I giggled some more. "Oh Shea… Sometimes, the littlest things you do are the ones that amaze me the most…"

* * *

That night, I returned, mission accomplished, with over 100 pieces of lumber, and a lot of entertainment. I was looking forward to giving Shea a little visit.

And I thought living in Sunshine Islands was going to be boring! Well, surprise, surprise, as usual, I was wrong.

* * *

_Yay! Shea's back! Hooray! Also, I think Sabrina might be coming back too, sooner or later. Oh, and this is chapter 10! Hooray! I've made a dozen chapter babies! And I've finally decided on how some things will turn out… Well, some of it, at the least. _

_By the way, I am REALLY going to have to speed things up a bit. It's chapter 10, and in the story, it's only, like, the second week, I think? Wow. I go WAY too much into detail._

_Alright, so there is a poll on my profile for my other story, MMPR (Meet Me in the Pouring Rain), so please, cast a vote! And… I've decided… That I'll try to continue my former discontinued story, Nameless! Yay! Happy happy day…_

* * *

_(1) Because if she did, then there'd be no point in continuing the story, right?_

_(2) I say that a lot. "You're so... so... Grr!"_

_(3) And I'm guessing that neither can you, because there isn't one! But I'm the author, so I do what __**I **__want! Yay! Anywho, the bridge connects Verdure Island to Meadow Island, and Meadow Island connects to most of the other islands, like Mushroom Island. Also, Mushroom Island is connected to the east side of Verdure Island, around the area behind Pierre's house. Hmm… Maybe I should've mentioned all this in the Author's note instead? Oh well, I just couldn't imagine Vaughn on a small little boat…_


	11. Getting used to it

**Ch.11 – Getting used to it**

_Ah, chapter 11!_

_kt the emo: Yes, I realized kt stands for Katie. And that you're a girl…A high-school themed story for SI? Well, I do have Nameless. Sure, it isn't ONLY about SI, and yes, it hasn't been updated for a REALLY long time… but I'm planning on continuing it. As in, chapter 2 is halfway done. From chapter 4 to 7? Wow, you really DO need a recap! _

_Alright, so in chapter 4, Chelsea is all pissed off at Vaughn for upsetting Sabrina. So she goes in, they start yelling at each other (as usual…), and she slaps him, before storming out. Then, she runs into Natalie, and they and up having a nice chit chat by the Goddess spring, where they practically tell each other everything. On her way back home, Pierre asks Chelsea if she'll enter the summer cooking festival, and Chelsea replies no, since she doesn't even have a kitchen yet. Pierre decides to let her into his kitchen, and cooks up a bunch of things with her, but when she walks out of the house, she runs into Vaughn, who makes her fall over, and walks away without apologizing. _

_Chapter 5: Julia runs up to her to see if everything was alright, then suggest they have a sleep over. A little reluctant, Chelsea accepts. So Chelsea, Julia, Natalie, and Lanna all and up in Julia's room. They play truth or dare, and Julia asks Chelsea if she likes Vaughn. Of course, she says no. They still don't believe her, so she mentions that Vaughn probably hates her! She hears footsteps, and sees Vaughn storming into his room. He heard everything. The girls eventually get bored of truth or dare, and decide to watch a movie. But apparently, Chelsea hasn't watched any R-rated movies, and doesn't at all share Julia's taste. To escape what's playing on the TV, she decides to go outside, to get some fresh air. But on her way out, the cowboy is there in a corner, fiddling through a drawer, and she has to be quiet to get past him._

_Chapter 6: I've decided I don't like recapping… Since Chelsea is quiet, she makes it all the way to the door unnoticed. She opens the door to get outside, but forgets about the little bell that rings whenever the door opens. Vaughn hears the bell ring, and starts to turn around, but Chelsea is faster, as she slips off into the darkness. Chelsea decides to go to Mushroom Island, the only place she hasn't yet visited. When she gets there, she walks around, but starts daydreaming. When she snaps back to reality, she realizes that she's lost. She suddenly hears noises in the bushes around her. It's Shea, the native. Chelsea is a little afraid of him, but he reassures her that he means no harm, and offers to help her get back to Verdure Island. Chelsea hesitates, but does eventually accept. Once Chelsea is safely back to the Main Land, Shea asks if "Chelee" will come back to visit him. Chelsea replies yes, and thanks the native, before he disappears back into the forest. But, forgetting to be noiseless, Chelsea skips back into the Animal Shop, and is stopped by Vaughn, who demands to know where she's been. She says that she's been at Mushroom Island. Vaughn starts teasing her, and Chelsea becomes over-defendant. In the end, she tells him not to talk to her anymore._

_I am too lazy to write any more recaps… Plus, that's already been over 500 words! If you need a recap, I think you should just go back and read it, m'kay?_

_So, without further ado, here comes chapter 11!_

* * *

I woke up at 6:00am, which was now my usual wakeup time. I now got up at this hour everyday. Dang, the things that I do just for community service…

I stretched and yawned. Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I rose to my feet, and started undressing. Like everyone else on these islands, I wore the exact same thing every morning. The same yellow shirt, the same orange jacket, the same blue shorts, and the exact same red boots.

I checked the mirror, and realized I was missing something. For there, on my forehead, was the same red scar I had gotten less then a season ago. I huffed, and searched around the room for my scarlet colored bandana, that had once only been a torn red T-shirt.

"No one's supposed to see that God damn scar…" I muttered quietly to myself, as I picked up the bandana from under my bed. If it could even be called a bed.

I wrapped it around my head, and marched out the door.

I grabbed my watering can, and watered the little turnip sprouts that had emerged from the ground only yesterday. It was the same routine everyday. Wake up, get dressed, water plants. Over and over again… At least now I'd have chickens to take care of too, now that I had enough lumber…

I dropped my watering can, gasping, and stood up straight. That's right! Chickens! I forgot to ask Gannon yesterday to build me a chicken coop! I'd do that, as soon as I finished watering my turnips…

I watered another one of the plants, and suddenly, a bright light appeared. When the light faded out, there was another little elf creature. I mean a sprite.

"Hi!" the little sprite said. "I'm El! Thanks for saving me! I'll be useful, and give you my help!"

And, just like that, the light blue sprite disappeared with a shower of sparkles.

"Um… Alright then…" I said, a little confused to what I did to earn it.

I shrugged my shoulders, and tipped my watering can to pour onto the next little plant. I groaned when I realized nothing came out, and walked over to the watering hole to fill it back up.

A bright light blinded me.

"Oh Goddess, another one?" I shouted.

Sure enough, as the light faded, there was a small sprite standing in front of me.

"Hi!" it said. "I'm Misty! Thanks for saving me! I'll be useful, and give you my help!" With that, the light blue sprite disappeared too.

"Do all sprites say the same thing?" I wondered out loud.

"Most of them do…" I jumped, and spun around quickly. "Oh… It's just Finn…"

Finn flew up higher, so he was level to my face. "Good morning, Chelsea!" he greeted. I acknowledged him with a nod of my head.

"Are we going to see Gannon today? To order the chicken coop you wanted?" he asked, flying around wildly.

I sighed. He doesn't give up, does he? "No,** I'm** going to see Gannon. **You** are staying here, doing… well… doing whatever Finns do, alright?"

"Ok!" he said cheerfully. This thing is so happy, it hurts. "Do you want me to use my magic and help you water the crops for you?" he asked.

"No thanks. Last thing I need is… sprite manure on my crops…" I shuddered, picturing it. "I'll finish it myself, if those darn sprites'll leave me alone…" I muttered.

I marched back to the turnip sprouts to prove my point. I watered the next small sprout, when suddenly, a familiar bright light blinded me.

"Oh, **COMMON**!"

* * *

So here I was, now, storming over to the Carpenter's Shop, while Finn watered the rest of my turnips. Stupid sprites…

I slammed the door open.

Inside, Eliza and Charlie were playing with what seemed to be a princess Barbie doll, and a… dinosaur ninja (1)?

Both kids jumped at the noise.

"Chelsea! You shouldn't get angry! It'll increase the chance of wrinkles on your face!" Eliza fussed.

"I can live with wrinkles…" I muttered. Eliza gasped, which made me roll my eyes. "Where's your Dad?"

"HOW COULD YOU LIVE WITH WRINKLES?" Eliza asked in astonishment.

"Gannon's outside, chopping some lumber." Charlie said, smiling sympathetically.

"Thanks, Charlie." I said, with a nod. I turned to Eliza. "You too… Eliza." I added coolly.

"No problem!" Eliza beamed. "I'm always there to help!"

Stupid kid…

I went back outside, to find Gannon. Sure enough, there he was, chopping away at some wood. He looked like he was working hard, and I didn't want to bother him. Instead, I stood, and watched him.

Oh… So you hold it like that… I always had my hands close together when I chopped wood, but he made a bigger distance… Maybe that would help… His feet are pointing outwards, too. And he kind of flicks the axe before he chops the wood…

When I was finished my little observation, I realized he was done chopping the branch. I hurried over before he could start on a new piece.

"Gannon, I have enough lumber! I'm ready to build a bird shed! Well, for you to build a bird shed, but you get the point, right? I mean, building a bird shed? Me? Haha, yeah right! I mean, I can't even-"

"Are you about done, Chelsea?" Gannon interrupted my blabbering.

I blushed. "Sorry…"

Gannon smiled. "That's alright. I'll get started later today. It should be done by tomorrow."

"Thank you."

* * *

I walked around Sprout Island, trying to find something to do. My farm work was probably done by now… I could feed the wild animals later… So now what?

Just then, the sound of a door opening was heard, and I spun to see a girl with raven-colored hair walking out. "Sabrina!" I called out to her, and waved.

Sabrina looked over in surprise, but relaxed when she saw it was just me. "Oh, h-hello, Chelsea…" she said in her usual, quiet voice.

"Hi! Why are you out so early?" I asked.

She watched the sunrise. The sky was now colored in shades of pink, orange, and red. "I always come out to watch the sunrise…" she said dreamily. "I find it… inspiring."

"Inspiring?" I asked curiously. "What does it inspire you to do?"

Sabrina's face flushed a bit. "Promise you won't tell a soul?"

"Cross my heart." I assured her, tracing an X over my chest to prove my words.

Sabrina still seemed hesitant. "Well… I… I like to paint…" she finally admitted. I didn't see why she was so secretive about it.

"Cool!"

She looked up, looking rather relieved. "You think so?"

"Of course!" I nodded. "I love painting! Although I'm much better at just sketching with a pencil…"

"My dad wouldn't be too happy if he found out…" Sabrina said sadly. "He thinks any other interests might drive me away from taking over the mining company…"

I studied her face for a moment. "Is that really what you want to do?"

Sabrina sighed. "No, not really… But it's my father. I don't want to disappoint him."

We sat there in silence for a few more minutes. Sabrina had this natural aura about her that relaxed me.

"Chelsea… Could… Could I ask you something?" Sabrina asked suddenly, twirling towards me.

"Um, sure. Fire away."

"Do you like Vaughn?" The question took me so off guard, I chocked on thin air. This had to be a joke, right? But, looking in those big violet-colored eyes of hers, I realized that no, this was NOT joke.

"Goddess, no! What made you think that, Sabrina?" I exclaimed. Sabrina blushed a little.

"Sorry, Chelsea. I just… saw you with him a few times." I looked at her with an extremely confused expression. The only times I was with Vaughn was when he ran into me… when I yelled at him… and when he saved me from a wild dog.

"Don't worry, Sabrina. There's nothing going on between Vaughn and I." I reassured her. The only time we were ever romantically involved was as kids… and I'm not even sure it's him!

"Ok. If you say so Chelsea…" Sabrina looked back up to the sunrise, "then I trust you."

I smiled, and sat back to enjoy the sunset.

* * *

Eventually, Sabrina retreated back to the mansion, and I decided to go fetch my drawing pad.

Hmm… What to draw?

What I liked to draw most were people. It didn't matter what type of people, or what they were doing. I just liked drawing people in general. Often, Cody, my art consultant in Forget-Me-Not, and I would go and hide somewhere to play ninja drawing; we'd secretly be drawing the people passing by without them noticing.

No… I shook my head. Forget-Me-Not means nothing to me now. That's all in the past.

Now, coming back to the main topic: Who should I draw?

Hm… Maybe I'd draw all the people on the island! Yeah, that would be a fun little art project!

I decided to draw Lanna first. She seemed the most fun to draw (2). I sketched her outer body. It looked pretty plain, since she was only standing straight, in ¾ view. Next, I drew her long gold colored hair. The front part framed her face, and the back part went all the way to her waist. I made sure her hair was completely straight, just like hers. I also remembered to draw her teal headband, with the black lacing. I carefully detailed the bows on the sides.

Next was her face. I drew the guidelines in a plus shape over the head. I positioned her eyes a little over the center, and made her chocolate orbs wide and energetic looking. Her nose was only a small, short line, only simple. I drew her mouth as a small smile.

Last were her clothes. I drew her long teal porcelain doll dress, adding all the ruffles. I carefully drew a rose in the middle. Then, I drew her brown boots.

Once I finished, I held up my masterpiece; a paper Lanna.

I was drawing roses around the page to decorate, when a voice suddenly cut me off. "I didn't know you drew."

I huffed. "There's a lot of things you don't know about me, cowboy."

Vaughn smirked. "Hmm… apparently."

He examined my picture. "Is that Lanna?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yep." It couldn't be that bad if he guessed who it was on the first shot.

"Lanna annoys me…" he muttered. I looked up at him. "How come?"

"Trust me, she's just annoying…"

Suddenly, a voice rang out. "Oh, Vaaaaaaughnie! I found you!" Lanna came running up.

"Oh. I get it now." I said quietly, trying hard not to laugh. Vaughn rolled his eyes, and turned to glare at Lanna.

"What did I do?" Lanna cried out, a little upset.

"You lived." He snapped. I snorted. I'm not sure if he was just saying that, or if he actually meant it… However, Lanna remained unfazed.

She looked from me, to Vaughn, and back again. "Ooooh, I get it!" she said suddenly. "I'm interrupting a little 'moment', like they always have in High School Musical! Sorry!"

And with that, she ran off. Vaughn turned back to me. "NOW, do you get it?"

I laughed and nodded. Then, I realized something. "Well, you seem a lot friendlier then usual!"

Vaughn's smirk disappeared. Instead, he scowled. "Whatever." And with that, he took his leave.

I sat there wondering. What did I do? Does he have some sort of rule that he has to always be cruel? That would be a stupid rule… But what I wondered most of all was: Why did I suddenly care?

* * *

_Sorry for the late update; I'm moving in a few days, so I've been packing boxes! Please don't kill me… ^-^" Anyway… I might have to skip a bit of time… It's only been two weeks…_

* * *

_(1) Who knows…? Maybe Harvest Moon really does play with ninja turtles! You never know!_

_(2) She actually is the most fun to draw! __**:D**_


	12. Amethyst Eyes

**Chapter 12 - Amethyst eyes**

_Okay, so, by luck, one of our neighbours has a WIFI conection, so I was able to post this, and answer some reviews. BUT! They're probably leaving tomorow, so I won't be able to steal their internet for anything else, okay? Well... I hope you like it!_

* * *

I stood up, put my drawing pad under my arm, and made my way to my farm. As I arrived there, I saw a small sign that I hadn't noticed before by my house. It wasn't new, I just didn't see i. I got closer, to see what it said. '_ Farm', it read. Which reminded me; I never named that farm! If I was going to stay here for another 4 years and 3 seasons, I might as well give it a name... Hmm...

"Chelee!"

"Shut up Shea, I'm thinking...!" I said. Hmm... What about Daisy Farm, or Clover Farm? Ew... Maybe Sunset Farm? Ew-er! ... I have a feeling there's something I'm not noticing.

I jumped in surprise, and spun around. "Shea!"

Shea looked surprised, but he grinned, spun around in a cercle, and yelled, "Chelee!"

"Shea! How the hell did you get to my farm?" I asked.

Shea shrugged. "I ask purple penguin.", he said, matter-of-factly. Ah, Pierre told him. "Purple penguin look afraid of Shea. Shea don't know why."

I laughed, just imagining Shea pointing a spear at Pierre's face, and asking where I lived. "Me neither, Shea. I can't even imagine why." I said sarcastically. But of course, Shea didn't notice.

"Maybe penguins afraid of great warrior." he shrugged again.

"Yes, I'm sure that's it!" But, once again, Shea didn't notice my sarcasm. "What are you even doing here?" I asked.

Shea smiled. "I come to play with Chelee!"

I raised a brow. "Really? What do you want to play?"

"Shea teach Chelsea hunt!"

I'm pretty sure my face drained from its color. "H-Hunt? As in, kill, and... see it die, with blood n' stuff?"

Shea's smile only became bigger. "Yeah!"

Oh no... I have to find an excuse... "I... don't... wanna... uh..." I said slowly.

Shea's face fell. "Chelee don't wanna hunt..." he stated.

I couldn't stand seeing him so upset. "No, it's not that I don't want to! It's just that... today, the... air is too humid! It means the meat won't taste good!" Oh, fuck me... No, I don't want to hunt! How hard is it to say?

Shea's face showed horror. "Meat won't taste good? Oh no! Shea must warn Wada! Chelee, stay here!" I wasn't able to say another word before he dissapeared into the thick bushes.

I smirked to myself. No matter how cute Shea was, there was no way I'd stay in one spot.

* * *

"I'm so **BORED**!" I yelled to no one in particular. I was on Meadow Island, and was desperate for something to do.

Suddenly, there was a burst of smoke. I started coughing, and fell over. What the hell? Are there evil sprites too?

"Sorry." A girl's voice said. "My bad." A hand helped me back up. "I'm Witch Princess!"

Now that the smoke had cleared up, I was able to see the owner of the voice. It was a girl who looked about my age. She had long, wavy, blond hair, and purplish-reddish colored eyes. She was wearing a long-sleeved dark purple dress, with a small gray shirt layered on top. A black cloak was draped around her thin body, attaching together by a skull-shaped clip. (1) All in all, she looked mischievous.

"Okay... So first, a Goddess, and now, a Witch? Why am I not surprised...?" I said sarcastically.

The Witch frowned. "I'm serious!"

"I know." I said honestly. "I'm used to weirdos by now." I was expecting the Witch Princess to argue about how she supposedly wasn't 'weird'. But, to my surprise, she only smirked, and clapped her hands together.

"You've been a very bad girl, Chelsea. Tsk tsk." she said. I tensed. "Wh-What do you mean?" I asked. Did she know?

"Yes, I know everything, Chelsea." Oh yeah. Forgot about the mind-reading. "I even know of every little thing that happened to you in Forget-Me-Not."

Darn you, Witch. The Witch glared at me. "I can read minds, remember?" Oh yeah. Oops. "You bet, oops!" Witch said angrily. Then, her features softenned into that smik again. "I like you. So fearless, but fearful at the same time. We could have a lot of fun together..."

Something about her gaze made me shiver. It was... scary. "I do a lot of bad things, Chelsea." The Witch said. "I breakup lovers. I kill animals. I poison food. Bad stuff, Chelsea." she smiled. "I'd like it if you assisted me in my pranks."

I thought a little. "Alright... if it releaves my boredom. One condition, though." The Witch looked at me curiously. "Nothing too dangerous." The Witch crossed her ams, and pouted. "If you do know everything about my past, you'd know about my criminal records. I don't want to add anymore to that list."

"Why not? Nobody knows, yet. If you're careful enough, they'll think it was an accident!" Witch pointed out. "Besides, you've already attempted murderer. I don't think you could be in worse trouble."

I froze, and gapped."A-Attempted m-murderer?" Witch Princess smiled. "Yep. That's what it says on your records." I stared at her dumbly.

"But... I never tried to... kill anyone!" I protested.

Witch Princess tilted her head to the side. "I know. They don't. You don't expect them to put you in community care for 5 years for only the other stuff you did, do you?"

"Y-You're lying." I said. I couldn't think of any other way.

"Nope. Your records are in Taro's house, in the drawer at the right. See for yourself!" Witch said with a mischievous smile.

Without even thinking, I ran full speed towards Taro's house. I threw the door open, and ran towards the drawer. I opened it too quickly, though, and the drawer came off of its hinges. (2) Papers and files flew everywhere. Perfect. Exactly what I needed.

I piled the files together, while also looking for my records. Finally, I found them. Here is exactly what I found:

**Chelsea Hart**

**Age: 17**

**Birthday: Fall 13th**

**Family: Unknown**

**Current location: Unknown**

**Personal data: Parents unknown. Backround unknown. Lived in Forget-Me-Not from the age of 14 to 17. Dissapeared Winter 30th, after performing criminal acts.**

**Criminal records:**

**-stole vegetables from a Harvest farm.**

**-refused to pay for drinks at the Blue Bar.**

**-vandalized buildings.**

**-attempted murderer of a young girl.**

Questions filled my head. Why didn't they know my current location if it was the police itself that sent me to these Islands? Why didn't they know my backround before I came to Forget-Me-Not? What made them think I attempted murderer?

"Searching through private files, huh? Bad girl..." tsked (3) a voice. I froze. "Vaughn... If you don't mind, could you leave me alone, and come back in in like... 5 minutes?" I hissed.

The stupid cowboy came closer, a smirk on his lips. "What are you looking for? Why?" he asked.

"I-It's none of your business." I muttered, avoiding his stare. I knew I wouldn't be able to hold his gaze.

"Is it?"

"No, it isn't."

Vaughn walked forward slowly. He was scaring me like hell! I backed up, and jumped as I banged into the wall. This reminded me of something...

* * *

"Daddy! What did I do?" I cried. I backed up into a corner, frightened as hell. I was only a little girl, after all.

"You lived!" my dad hissed back.

My mother was already passed out on the floor beside my father. Was she dead? Did she need medical help? I didn't know. It scared me.

"You little brat!" he yelled. "You never deserved to live!"

There was no one to save me this time. I was going to die tonight, I was sure of it. I wondered if it would be done quick, or if my death would be slow and painful? It didn't really matter anyway. Either way, it would come to the same result.

"I will beat you, you idiot, just like I beat that mother of yours!" he promised himself, as he came closer. "Elisabeth (4) has no right to tell me what to do! I can drink as much as I'd like!"

Alcohol. That's why he acted this way. Most said that drowning themselves in alcohol got rid of their problems. I find it just creates more.

Christopher Hart, my own father, was going to kill me tonight. I was sure of it. It was a shame. I'd only been ale to live 6 years of my life.

"Leave Chelsea alone!" a voice shouted.

"Vaughn! Don't! You'll get injured!" I shouted with my posh accent.

"I don't care." came my response.

"Get lost, you orphan!" My dad hissed.

"Not until you let Chelsea go!" the boy shouted. I could barely see him through the darkness, but I reconized the silver hair that was gleaming in the moonlight.

My dad turned around with icyness in his eyes. "Leave us alone." he said coolly.

"No."

Christopher, my father, stepped over my mother's body. He walked closer to the boy. "Fine. As you wish."

The boy stood his ground. My father took a step towards him. "Chelsea, RUN!" the boy yelled.

I took a quick look at him. He looked so brave, as if he weren't afraid of anything. But I could tell he was more then just afraid. My eyes locked quickly with his fearful amethyst once, before I ran.

* * *

I shook my head quickly. It was just a memory... just a memory... just a-

"So? Are you going to tell me what you were just doing?"

I looked up, into his eyes. Or more specifically, his amethyst eyes.

* * *

_Bleh, I don't like the end of this chapter. It was SO LAME! But I couldn't really think of anything else, and I really wanted to show some of Chelsea's past. Speaking of Chelsea's past, you saw a lot of it, didn't you? A little more then I wanted, so you are all lucky!_

_Oh, before I forget, I have 2 things I need to say: I'm gone camping right now/when I wrote this, so I have **NO WIFI**, which is why I haven't been posting new chapters, or answering messages. I'm sorry! Also, I decided that Chelsea's parents will be OCs. I'll be using Rock and Lumina later!_

_ONE LAST THING!_

_I'm thinking of maing a sequel to this story, using the AP characters. I have no idea when this one will finish, but it was just an idea. Anyway, if I did supposedly make a sequel, it would probably be about Chelsea's kids. So, should the kids be OC, or the actual AP main characters (Angela, Molly, Kasey, Kevin)? Do you think it should be the kids as teenagers, with the main bachelores/bachlorettes as love interests? Or should the kids still be young, with their love interests being the AP rival children? For exemple, Kasey x Selena as teenagers, or Kasey x Lucy, as kids?_

_I NEED ANSWERS!_

_Okay, thanks everyone! Reviews are appreciated!_

* * *

_(1) Sorry for two things; a) I'm not sure if that's exactly what Witch looks like. I didn't have internet while I was writing, so I couldn't check. b) I know, in chapter 8, it appears that Chelsea already knows Witch Princess. However, I have/have to change that, since she is just meeting Witch Princess now._

_(2) I wasn't sure how to describe it. Hinges was the closest word I could find._

_(3)'Tsked' is not a typo! It's a real word!_

_(4) I'm supposed to have already mentioned this, but... just in case I forget... I changed Chelsea's parents to OC characters. I figured I'd need Rock and Lumina later on._


	13. Taro's never wrong

**Chapter 13 - Taro's never wrong.**

"It... It **is** you!" I said in surprise.

Vaughn turned his head, and gave me a weird look. "..."

Then I realized I said that out loud. My face heated up. "N-Never mind..."

Vaughn slowly turned around, and walked out the door, muttering something about 'this island, and its weirdos'. Huh. He did have a point...

Looking down, I realized my hands were shuddering. But I wasn't cold. I clumsily put away the piece of paper in my back pocket, shut the file drawer, and stepped outside. The sun felt good on my cool skin.

"Told you so!" That voice...

I frowned suddenly. "Witch!"

The Witch Princess walked up closer. "I'm not sure if you were saying that as an insult, or if you were just calling me by my name, but... Whatever."

"Why do they think I did that?" I demanded.

"Sheesh, it's not like it's my fault!" Witch scowled, crossing her arms. "It's not my fault Vesta over-exaggerated things!"

I took a deep breath. I knew how Vesta was. She always over-exaggerated things. It was just a misunderstanding...

"Goddess, Chelsea, you're no fun at all!" Witch exclaimed with an annoyed sigh. "Come back and see me when you're over this whole drama queen act!" And with another burst of smoke, she was gone.

I just stood there, staring at the spot she was at just minutes ago, when someone tapped my shoulder. "Uh... Chelsea? What are you doing, exactly?"

"I was just leaving, Natalie. Don't worry. I didn't do anything! I'm innocent!"

Natalie's brown eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Great... Okay, then...?"

I just smiled widely, trying to prove nothing was up, but it just made her look even more uncertain. "Chelsea, are you okay? You're acting kind of... weird...?"

"Never better!" I chirped. "I've gotta run! Good bye!"

I started skipping towards my farm. "Oh, Chelsea! Grandpa wanted me to tell you something!" I heard Natalie yell. "There's going to be a storm tomorow! A typhoon!"

I laughed. A typhoon? In the spring? That old fart was crazy!

"I'll keep that in mind!"

What a weird day today! First, a native appears on my farm, then a crazy Witch comes out of nowhere, AND I find out that apparently I attempted murderer? Thank Goddess the sun was setting now, or I'd-

"Chelee!" "WHAT?" I yelled. It was Shea... again.

"Chelee, Shea find you now! You good at hide, seek!" He said cheerfully. I face-palmed.

"Now it's Shea's turn! Shea hide, Chelee count!" Shea said, before dissapearing somewhere in the woods.

I stood there for a while, before muttering a "Huh.", and walking inside. I stripped out of my clothes, except for my yellow spaguetti strap shirt, and I put on a worn-out pair of gray shorts I found lying around when I first got here.

When they kicked me out of Forget-Me-Not, they didn't let me bring anything along with me. All I had that was rightfully mine was the clothes I wore during the day, and this farm plot.

I happily jumped into bed, and snuggled up against the covers. I think that so far, maybe this farm was the best thing I ever owned.

* * *

I woke up to a flash of light, and a clap of thunder. "What the-" "BOUM!" I was interrupted by thunder, and then I realized: THE TYPHOON! Taro was rigt after all!

"NO! MY CROPS!" I yelled. The storm would ruin all my hard work!

I ran to the door, and tried to yank it open, but it wouldn't budge.

"I knew you'd try to go outside!" a squeaky voice said. "You can't go outside during a storm! You'll get sick!"

"Right now, Finn, the last thing I care about is my health. Now let me out!" I yelled at the small orange sprite.

Finn shook his head. "No, Chelsea. The Harvest Goddess assigned ME to be your protecter. So I have to protect you! I sealed the door so you can't get out!"

"I'm going to have to talk with Sephia. You're nothing but a pest!" I yelled.

All day, I could do nothing but stare out the window at the raging winds. My turnips were supposed to be fully grown today! And I could've saved them, if it weren't for Finniot (1)!

I guess there was nothing to really do, but go to bed, and wait for tomorow... At least Chen's shop would be open tomorow, so I could buy new crop seeds. They are open on Saturdays, right?

* * *

"Ok, Chelsea! You can wake up now! ... Wakey wakey! ... WAKE UP!"

With a groan, I managed to lift myself off my pillow. "I wanna sleep, Finniot!" I scowled.

"But you've already slept in!" the orange sprite said, flying around and around my head. I checked my small clock on my night table.

"6:10? Oh, Goddess, I did sleep in!" I exclaimed. Now, you might all say that 10 minutes late wasn't really that urgent. But as a farmer, to me, it was. Before I came here, I'd sleep in 'til about 1 o' clock in the afternoon. I was really lazy back then. But now, now it's all about getting work done, no slacking off! ... I make this sound like boot camp...

"Come on, Chelsea! It's time to get ready! You have to work! You can do it!" Finn cheered.

"Finn, if you keep flying around my head like that, I'm going to have to fetch the fly swatter!" I treatened. Not that I ad a fly swatter anyway...

I quickly got dressed, and as soon as I was decent-looking, I ran outside.

I stopped in front of my field, and dropped the watering can I was holding.

This... this was not my field. It couldn't be. My field had 18 turnips growing. This one had... only 4 mature turnips. All that hard work... It resulted in just 4 mature turnips.

"No! No... It can't be!" I yelled out, dropping down to my knees.

Finn flew beside me. "I'm sorry, Chelsea..." he said, shaking his head.

I felt a little ball of fury build up inside me. "YOU!" I growled. "If it were't for you, I'd be able to save my crops! But NO! You had to 'protect me'! And meanwhile, I'm supposed to save all your fairy friends? No! That's it! I give up!"

I ran away. I always seem to do that. Run away from things that I should stay strong about. But I never asked to be this... elf saviour! Why doesn't the freaking Goddess do it for me? I mean, Sephia looks powerful enough!

I ran across the bridge to Mystic Islands. Looking into the spring, I realized I still didn't exactly know how to summon Goddess. Or... there is one way...

Hoping this would work, I crossed my arms over my chest, and jumped in.

I heard a splash, and that familiar tugging feeling. Is it me, though, or is it weaker then before? Instead of fighting it, this time, I let it drag me down. There was a bright light, and I was back in... well... nowhere.

"That was a lot faster then I remember!" I said out loud. "Sephia? I need your help for something!" Then I realized: Where the heck was this crazy lady?

I turned- and saw a heap on the ground. A BREATHING heap. "Se-Sephia!" I ran over to her side. There was the Goddess.

Her green hair was tangled, and her delicate clothing was ripped. The flowers she had in her hair before had fallen out. I touched her wrist, only to find that her pulse was weak. But as long as she was breathing, she was still alive.

"You do realize... that you don't have to drown yourself to see me... right?" I jumped up in surprise.

"Se-Sephia?" I asked.

I saw the corner of her lip turn up. "And... I'm not... a... crazy lady..."

I smiled too, happy she was alright.

There came an explosion from behind me. A fire raged in the open whiteness. I was shocked, and afraid! A tall man stepped out of the fire. He had ruby red eyes, and a long orange braid. He wore white robes, so I assumed he was just as magical as the Goddess was.

"I am the Harvest God." the man said in a deep voice. "It takes a lot of power to save someone from dying, Chelsea."

"But you can do it, right?" I asked. The man sighed. "I mean for you, Chelsea. Drowning yourself? Not very wise."

I blushed. Of course... The God continued. "While Evangeline tried to save you, she used up most of her power. She's very unhealthy now."

"Wait- Who's Evangeline?" I asked.

"The Harvest Goddess of Sunshine Islands. You really thought her name was Sephia?"

I nodded, and the God laughed. "Sephia is the Goddess of Castanet. Evangeline is her younger sister."

"But I hate my name..." The Goddess muttered.

"But now, we have an unhealthy Goddess..." The Harvest God said, shaking his head. "Not even I can heal her, Chelsea." My eyes widened. "Wh-What? So... what can we do? We can't just leave her like this!"

The Harvest God frowned. "The question is not what we can do, but rather what **you** can do."

"Okay then...?" This doesn't help much. "So what can **I** do?"

"You must rescue all sprite members of the healing team." The Harvest God informed. Um... "What color is that, Mr. God, sir?" I asked.

The God raised a brow. "Purple."

Purple... I hadn't saved any of those. Great... That means I need to save about... "7." The God said, reading my thoughts. Alright then. I need to save 7 more sprites. Glory.

I suddenly remembered the reason I even came.

"Oh, Mr. Harvest God, sir?" The God cringed. "Please, my name is Ignis."

"Okay, Mr. Harvest God, sir. Anyway, Mr. Harvest God, sir," I smiled as I saw Ignis cringe at the new name, "there is this sprite at my house. Finn is his name. He's been constantly annoying me. Would you mind getting rid of him, oh Mr. Harvest God, sir?"

"No." Ignis said. "Finn is doing his job right. I've been watching over him. It's **YOU** that won't give him a chance. If that is all, you may now leave."

And with that, I found myself back on Mystic Island.

* * *

_Okay! This is the complete version. It's longer. I hope you liked it! Please:_  
_Review._  
_And vote in the poll on my profile._

_Thanks!_

* * *

_(1) Finn + idiot = Finniot!_


	14. Talk about crappy

**Chapter 14 – Talk about crappy…**

"Ugh…" I groaned. "Doing that always drains my energy…"

Just then, the door to the church opened, and a girl with brownish-pinkish hair stepped out. Oh yes, I remembered her! That's Alisa, from chapter 1!

"Oh! Chelsea! Are you alright?" Alisa came rushing over. "What happened? You're awfully pale!"

I opened my mouth to say I was fine, but Alisa interrupted. "Nein (1)! I mustn't burden you with these things! I'll go get Nathan! Just relax, Chelsea!"

I wanted to tell her I was fine, but it felt hard to stand… So I let her do what she had to do.

Alisa rushed out of the church with Nathan at her tail. Her sapphire eyes were dark with worry. "Nathan, is she alright?" she asked.

Nathan knelt beside me, and checked my pulse. Goddess, I'm fine! Just a little tired!

Nathan turned back towards Alisa. "She's fine. Just a little tired. Could you get the ceremony glass?"

The… what? "Isn't… Isn't that just for church ceremonies?" I asked.

Nathan smiled. "Yes, most of the time, it is. But we also use it for healing."

Huh. How did some church cup help heal people? Religion was never my forte, so I assume a lot of people could probably answer that question, and add a small "duh" at the end. As if it were completely obvious. Which, to them, it probably was. I just didn't get proper education.

Alisa came out with a large gold colored glass. There were designs on the tip, of doves and vines. She gave the cup to Nathan, who proceeded to… to whatever he was doing.

He dipped the cup in the spring water, muttered a few words, and to finish, did the cross sign. All that crap. The water in the cup glowed a purple color, but then turned back to normal. He then offered the cup to me.

"Drink a little. It'll help."

I reluctantly took a sip. It tasted odd. It tasted… sweet, yet salty… I'm not sure if I liked or not. Suddenly, it felt like my throat was burning! I let out a little whimper, but neither Alisa nor Nathan looked surprised. What the hell is this stuff?

The burning feeling wore out eventually, and when it did, I felt fully re-energized. I stood back up easily, and stared incredulously at the water still left in the cup. I really had to learn more about religion…

I handed the cup back to Nathan with a muttered thank you, and left the islands. What time was it now? … I didn't know. I really needed to get myself a watch. I decided to go to Chen's shop to buy some more seeds. I really needed some more seeds…

Thankfully, the door was unlocked, meaning the shop was open. I stepped in, and started looking through the many bags of seeds. Suddenly, my attention was caught by a shiny object in the back. I looked at the small sign indicating what the object was.

It read: **Teleport Stone**.

I looked closer. It was a beautiful necklace, with an amethyst in the middle, in a diamond shape. Now this, I could buy! I looked back at the small sign, looking for a price.

**Teleport Stone**

**100,000G**

Oh my Lord… There's no way I'll be able to afford that anytime soon… Back to looking for seeds! I shouldn't distract myself!

"Can I help you?" I jumped at the voice, and spun around to find it was Chen.

"Oh, uh…" I can't believe I forgot what I was looking for… I just thought about it, like, 10 seconds ago! "I'm looking for… Oh yeah! I'm looking for spring crop seeds!"

Chen started walking away to the opposite corner, and I followed him. He stopped beside some baskets. "Right here, miss Chelsea."

I nodded. "Please, it's just Chelsea. Miss makes me sound old." Chen laughed, and went back to the counter.

Hmm… What seeds should I get this time? I never did finish growing the turnips, so maybe I'll get one of those… Hmm, what about potatoes?

As I pondered on my choices, the small bell for the door chimed. And beside me appeared Mark. "Hey, Chels." He said. "I'm guessing your crops got ruined in that storm too?"

I looked at him with wide eyes. "It happened in Forget-Me-Not too?"

Mark smiled. "Sure did. In Zephyr Town too. And Flowerbud. Practically everywhere but Castanet." He said, picking up a bag of strawberry seeds and cucumber seeds.

"Oh." I responded. I picked up the two bags of seeds I had decided on, and followed him to the counter, where Chen was waiting patiently.

Chen checked out my items. "That'll be 270G." he said.

"Um…" I searched through my pockets, and pulled out a small bag of change. Skye gave it to me, before the police caught up to me. "Is this enough?" I asked, placing it on the counter.

Chen emptied the bag on the counter, and stared at me incredulously. "Chelsea, how did you get so much money?" There were a lot of coins on the table. And I mean a LOT. There was probably enough to afford that Teleport Stone after all!

"I… I don't know. Is it enough?" I asked nervously, a little embarrassed.

Mark glanced at me. "Chelsea, don't you know how to count money?"

I stared at my shoes, now very embarrassed. "Not really…" I admitted.

Mark frowned. "What's 100 plus 101?" he asked.

I knew how to count… just not how to add up numbers… or subtract… I never went to school, you see.

"Um… 102?" I suggested.

"You've never gone to school…" Mark stated. Then he grinned. "I'll teach you!"

My head shot up. "R-Really?"

"Yeah! I mean, you've got to learn somehow… So why not?"

I was very grateful for his actions. I bought my seeds (apparently, I did have enough after all), and walked home.

Finn flew around my head like the annoying pest he was as soon as I got onto my farm land. Well, that is, as soon as I threatened to get the fly swatter again…

I grabbed my hoe, and tilled some of the land. With every swing, I felt stronger. More capable.

I wiped some sweat off my brow. Luckily for me, the temperature always cooled down after a storm. I was met with a refreshingly cool breeze.

Taking off my orange jacket, I continued my work. Only two more swings of my hoe, and I could get to planting and watering. I swung hard. One more left… I swung my hoe one last time, and I was done. Thank Goddess!

Next came the seeds. With my hands, I carefully placed three seeds in each tilled space.

"Done! Finally!" I yelled out victoriously.

Finn flew onto my shoulder. "You still have to water them, Chelsea. You do realize that, right?"

My face fell. "Fuck."

Finn immediately went berserk. "NO CUSSING! Swearing is bad! It's rude, and mean, and just not nice!" he yelled into my ear. I flicked him off my shoulder.

"You know what else is mean, elfie? BURSTING MY FREAKIN' EARDRUMS!" I yelled back. "How 'bout you get your freaking fairy friends to water them for me, dumb ass?"

Goddess, this was not my day. I went into my (STILL!) crappy house, slamming the door behind me. I lay on my bed, and just stared at the ceiling. It wasn't long 'til I fell asleep…

* * *

I didn't know where I was going. I didn't know how long I had been running. But I kept at it. I was tired. I was cold. Hungry. Thirsty. I had no where to go.

My mind wondered back to Vaughn and Dad. Was Vaughn hurt? Was mother still alive? Where was Dad right now?

No. I mustn't think of that right now. I'd just have to keep running. Keep-

"Uh!" I ran right into someone.

The person gasped. "Oh, honey! Are you alright?"

I looked up to see a woman with long brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. She was wearing a white bonnet, a long-sleeved black dress, and a white apron.

"Who are you?" I asked.

The woman smiled, and put a loose strand of her brown hair behind her ear. "My name is Catherine. What's your name?"

The woman seemed nice, but I was told to never talk to strangers. "My name is Chelsea. I came from a very wealthy family. I am not allowed to talk to poor peasants like you." I said, with a very snobbish air.

The woman's smile faded a little. "Where are your parents?"

"M-My mother… might be… gone… and my father…" I started, my eyes getting watery, "My father doesn't like me."

Catherine held out her hand. "It sounds like you need a place to stay. Come with me." I reluctantly followed her over to a large building. "This is the orphanage."

* * *

_Another short one, but I couldn't think of anything else to add into this one. That, and I'm lazy. So, now, at least you know she's lived in an orphanage. So… um… please review!_

* * *

_(1) German, for no. I always imagined that Alisa was European. Actually, I always imagined her being kind of… Russian! But I can't speak Russian at all, and I'm way too lazy to find a translator, so German it_ _is!_


	15. If you say so

**Chapter 15 - If you say so**

I got up the next morning with a groan. Why was I getting these dreams of my past? Did they have a certain meaning to them? Or were they just from… stress, or something stupid that doctors would say?

There was a flash of white. Oh great… Not another sprite…

Just like I had guessed, there in front of me stood a small elf-like creature, dressed in purple. Wait- purple?

"Hi! I'm Wisteria! Thank you for saving me! I'll be useful and give you my help!" the little sprite said. God, can they say anything other then that?

The sprite disappeared, after another flash of light. "What did I do to get this one?" I asked to myself.

"You drank enchanted water from the Goddess Spring." I jumped at the sound of the squeaky voice.

Finniot- I mean, Finn, flew from a corner of the house.

I knitted my eyebrows together (1). "How did you know that…?"

Finn looked surprised I was even talking to him. "W-Well, I… know where… where some of them… are…" he stuttered, and lowered his head in shame.

I gasped. "And you didn't tell me?"

Finn shook his head. "No…"

I sighed, trying to keep calm. "Ooooookay…" I slurred. "Well then, tell me. How can I find more purple sprites?" I asked hopefully.

Finn brought his finger up to his chin thoughtfully.

"I… only remember five others. You can get one by drinking one alcoholic drink. Then another for drinking fifty alcoholic beverages. The three others, you can get by eating 30, 80, and 150 pieces of wild grass."

"Hmm… That sounds easy enough!" Maybe there was hope!

I got dressed and went outside to do my usual chores. Finn flew out after me. As I was scooping water into my watering can, Finn unrouted a weed, and flew onto a stone beside me.

"What's that for?" I asked.

He handed it to me. "Throw it in the watering hole." I raised a brow. "Um… why?"

He rolled his eyes. "Just do it." Wow! Sprite's got attitude!

I shrugged, took the weed, and threw it in the water. Suddenly, the water started to bubble, and there was another bright light. God, it's so bright today, you'd think I were on my way to heaven or something!

A blue sprite appeared this time. "Hi!" he said cheerfully. "I'm Karaf! Th-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it." I interrupted the elf-like creature. "Thank you for saving me, I'll help you any way I can, goodbye."

The light blue sprite stared at me, his mouth still slightly open, not quite knowing what to say. He cleared his throat. "Um… goodbye." And with a flash of white light, he was gone.

"Okay, Finniot. Tell me where the rest are."

* * *

I don't know why I hadn't asked Finn for help before. After all, he IS a sprite himself! Who would know better then him?

We rescued 13 more sprites today. So… if I had 65 sprites before… um… 65 plus 14 (2) would be…

Never mind.

Speaking of my lack of brain juices, Mark's supposed to come by and teach me useless stuff in like… 0 seconds. Okay, maybe not too useless, but STILL!

"Hey Chels!" Speaking of the devil…

"Hey Marky!" I replied with a grin. "What are we doing today?"

Mark raised his brows. "What do you think?"

I groaned. "More additions? We've been doing that… like… every lesson so far!"

Mark chuckled. "Well, we'll keep doing that until you learn them!"

I stuck my tongue out to him, and he smiled, taking the lead and opening the door for me. We both stepped into my practically empty house, and sat in front of the small table.

"Hey Marky?" I asked. I wasn't sure if he was listening, since he was still searching in his bag for paper.

"Uh huh?" he said, hinting for me to continue.

"What's 65 plus 14?"

Mark looked up, and smirked. "What's 4 plus 5?"

I rolled my eyes. "9…"

"6 plus 1?" "7, I get it…"

"And what does that make?" Mark asked, giving me an expectant look.

"… 16?" I guessed.

Mark gave me a sincere smile. "You shouldn't have added 7 and 9 together. The answer is 79."

My eyes practically bulged out of their sockets. Or something like that… "79? YAAAAY!"

"…" Mark stared at me strangely, and I shot him a look. "Of course I'm sane, you idiot!"

Mark laughed. "Read my mind! What was the whole 'yay' thing about, anyway?"

I shrugged. "I… almost added up a big number?"

Mark laughed again. "Dummy."

I gasped. "No, YOU'RE a dummy!"

"Am I?"

"Yeah!"

"Really?"

"YEAH!"

"Well you're the one talking to a dummy!" I groaned. "I hate you, Mark…"

"Nah, you just loooove me!" Mark said teasingly.

"Oh yeah, of course, I would totally fall for some psycho icky farmer like you!" I shot back. Mark just started laughing. "What?" I asked.

"Well, I wouldn't fall for some psycho icky farmer like you either!" he said between laughs. Oh shit. That fit my description perfectly.

"I hate you even more now."

"You realize I don't have to teach you this stuff three seasons a year." Mark pointed out.

I grinned. "HALLELUIA!" I yelled, jumping up.

Mark smirked. "Nope. I could teach you this stuff 4 seasons a year instead!"

My smile froze on my face. Double shit. Why is it that I can see magical beings, but I STILL never get my way?

"You wouldn't dare." I hissed, looking down at him.

Mark shrugged. "That is, if you don't want to have year long lessons, I don't blame you."

That's when I realized- "Hey… You already give me year long lessons!" I shouted.

Mark just started laughing hysterically. He's the worst teacher ever… "It's not funny!" I screamed even louder. Which, of course, made Mark laugh even louder.

"Grr!" Frustrated, I took my red farmer's boot off, and started hitting him with it. Mark was laughing so hard now, I could see tears in his eyes. Fuck him. Does he not realize it's rude to literally LOL at people? Whatever he has in that huge rucksack of his is probably broken now, because of him rolling back and forth on the floor.

Jerk.

Suddenly, he grabbed my leg, and rolled over again. My eyes widened, as I realized-

"BOUM!" "Ow…"

Too late.

Mark tripped me. Like I said before. WORST. TEACHER. EVER!

And then suddenly, he was lying on top of me, hands under his head on my stomach, with his legs crossed on the floor. He watched me with that mischievous sparkle in his eyes, wondering what my reaction would be.

I pushed him off me. "Get off! I'm not a pillow!"

"Aren't you?"

"NO!"

"Huh. I thought you were. You sure feel squishy enough to be a pillow."

I gasped. "Did you just call me squishy?"

Mark smiled proudly. "Yes, yes I did."

"I hate you."

"Love you too!" Mark said cheekily, but he had a faint blush tainting his cheeks.

"Really?" I said sarcastically.

"Of course!" he answered, rolling his eyes. But for some reason, his blush grew darker.

"Huh. Teachers aren't supposed to love their students." I told him.

"Aren't they? Students aren't supposed to love their teachers either." he responded.

"Hey! I don't love you!" I protested, crossing my arms over my chest.

"If you say so."

"I hate you!"

"Uh-huh. If you say so."

* * *

According to Mark, I'm almost ready to move on from additions. Thank Goddess! I was certain I would explode! My new baby turnips seem to be growing even better then the last batch! They could sprout anytime now! As for my potatoes... Not so much. Oh well!

I decided to grab my drawing pad and continue drawing the villagers. So far, I had Lanna, Denny, Eliza, Charlie, and Gannon sketched up. I'd have to find a way to get colored crayons, somehow, since they looked pretty dull in black and white.

Who should I draw next? I still hadn't drawn Taro's family, so I might as well do them now!

I skipped over to Taro's house, who was conveniently close to mine. Opening the door, I saw Nathan (the church pastor) and Taro talking at the kitchen ta1ble. Felicia was in the small kitchen, and based on the shouting I heard, Elliot and Natalie were upstairs.

"HI, CHELSEA!" Taro shouted. "HOW'S THE FARM?"

"Fine, thanks." I answered with a smile. "You?"

"I'm fine." Taro said a little quieter.

You see, I may be rude to people my own age, but I'm always polite towards adults. Why, you may ask? Teenagers tend to shrug it off. Adults, on the other hand, often judge people. You say something they don't approve of, they look at you differently, or speak to you differently. Life won't offer you second chances, so you better get things right the first time.

"You lookin' for Natalie? She's upstairs, fightin' with Elliot, as usual..." Taro said with a shake of his head. "Those two are like cat an' dog, Natalie bein' the dog... Sometimes, I kinda feel bad for Elliot. Kid's got no backbone."

I laughed. "Well, alright. Thank you, Taro."

He aknowledged me with a nod of his head. "Any time, li'l lady."

I went to the right, and up the stairs (3). I could kind of hear the argument inside the room Natalie and Elliot shared, so I kept in the hall, and watched through the doorway, without being seen.

"Why aren't you talking to Julia anymore?" I heard Natalie shout.

"Because first, she stood me up, and then, she's been neglecting me!" Elliot yelled back.

"Neglected my ass!" Natalie shook her head, muttering something about how stupid her brother was. "And I already told you, she stood ytou up because it was a DARE!"

When did we dare Julia to have Elliot stood up? Um... My brain suddenly put two and two together, and I remembered; At the sleepover! It was ME! (4)

I automatically felt guilty. It was all my fault that Julia and Elliot weren't talking... It was all my fault...

My pencil dropped to the floor, and I suddenly remembered why I was here. I was supposed to be drawing the two! Luckiy, they hadn't heard the pencil drop, and I was still able to draw them.

This picture would truly represent their personalities! If they were both fighting!

I started with the heads, as one must do, although I had to scooch over to get a good angle. Natalie's head was in 3/4 view right, Elliot's head was in 3/4 view left.

Next was the body. Natalie was quite skinny, although her chest size was... ahem, not too large. Although I wouldn't tell her that if I were you. Elliot was, on the other hand, not skinny, but scrawny, with twig like arms. I drew Natalie with one finger up, as some do while lecturing others.

Elliot had his eyes wide open, and I laughed quietly, since both the drawing, and the real Elliot looked afraid of Natalie. His round glasses looked like they were about to fall off, and he looked as if he were to fall over (the drawn Elliot, I mean). His bangs were blown a bit upward, and I drew two sweatdrops beside his head to add dramatization.

Natalie's eyes were closed, and her mouth was half open, to show she was talking,

Looking at the complete picture so far, I realized it looked more like Natalie lecturing Elliot then the both of them fighting each other. I smiled o myself. This picture really showed who wore the pants in the family. Although she wasn't wearing pants in the picture. Now was she wearing any other clothes at all at the moment...

Well, looks like clothes were to be drawn next!

I drew short bangs on Natalie's forehead, followed by a ribbon, and then the rest of her short bob. Instead of looking perfectly groomed, I drew her haie to be a little more out of place.

Her pants were next. They were a little too big, and the bottem was rolled up to show some yellow design. She wore a short sleeved turtleneck too (which I admit, I had a little trouble drawing, and erased at least 5 times), and last but not least, her apron, that was flowing carelessly. I didn't bother drawing shoes, since she was currently barefoot anyway.

Yay! One down, one to go!

Elliot wore a button down navy blue shirt, jean overalls, and a green apron with two pockets. His clothes were actually pretty easy to draw, since there wasn't much complecated detail that needed to be added.

Since I drew Natalie barefoot, I decided to draw Elliot with only black socks.

I sighed in satisfaction as I admired my work. Perhaps I would draw the backround later?

That's when I noticed that the room was completely silent. Or... almost.

"Ha!" Someone shouted in my ear, and I jumped at the sound. "I look so much better then you do, Elliot!"

"No!" Elliot answered. "Look at me! I'm awesome!"

"How many other pictures did you draw, Chels?" Natalie asked.

"Yeah, you're a really good artist!" Elliot added.

I blushed a little. "Guys... I'm not that good...!" I protested. Honestly, I've seen much better.

But Natalie and Elliot kept on pestering me until I gave them the drawing pad. First they saw Lanna's picture, which was just her standing, then they flipped to a short two panal comic of Denny fishing, and catching a huge fish. The next page was with a picture of Gannon staring intimidatingly, and then a drawing of Charlie and Eliza playing with each other, Charlie with his 'ninja turtles', and Eliza with her 'Barbie-imported-from-France'. I had to admit, that one was pretty cute...

They flipped back to the picture of themselves, both gawking.

"Hey!" Natalie exclaimed. "You might be the one grandpop's looking for for!"

"Huh?" I looked at her, perplexed. "What do you mean?"

But Natalie was already dragging me down the stairs.

"Grandpa. I found someone!" she yelled.

Taro was still with Nathan, and he looked up with an impatient look on his face. "Natalie, I'm tryin' to have a discussion, so go bother someone else, like Elliot."

"Hey!" Elliot shouted from rght behind us.

Natalie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but I found someone who can help! I mean, just look!" she said, shoving my drawing pad in Taro's hands. Even Felicia became curious, and looked over her father's shoulder at my art.

"Why, THOSE ARE MY GRANDCHILDREN!" Taro shouted, jumping up from his chair so quickly, that it fell over. "Who drew this, Chelsea?"

"Yeah!" Natalie beamed. "Chelsea made it!" Aw, she's so pretty when she smiles!

"Look at that, Nathan! It's my grandkids!" Taro said, handing over the picture. Even Felicia gasped in excitement.

"It looks just like them!" she squealed.

Nathan nodded. "She would work very well."

"Very well at what?" I asked.

Taro looked up at me. "Nathan was thinking of painting a mural in the church, and we were looking for some people who could help us. Mark and Sabrina said yes already, but we need as many good artists as we can get! Could you help us?"

Well... it WAS a chance to show off my art skills... AND, it was ALSO a way to relieve myself from boredom... so... "Why not?"

Felicia smiled. "We're sorry hun, we didn't mean to pressure you. We know you have to work on the farm. It's alright."

"No, really!" I insisted. "Sounds like fun!"

Felicia clapped her hands in delight. "That's great! We'll see you tomorow at the church, at ten o' clock, okay?"

I nodded. "Got it!"

* * *

_Sorry for the really long wait! I was in New York City, but then when I got back, there were some problems. Apparently, some virus got spread around, and we couldn't use our computers! I could only review, n' stuff. Plus, when I got back on, I found that most of my PMs got deleted! I only have a few from wipe-your-tears, 2 from coolestperson19, one from peachthehedgehog, a few from magicalsquaresofdarkness, and one from LollipopDiego. However, it seems that they've stated reappearing, which is really, REALLY weird. I didn't have Lollipop's message yesterday! But it suddenly reappeared today!_

_So, if you sent me a PM. and your name is not on that list, I'd appreciate if you send itt again, please! And thank you._

_Has anyone else had this problem before? Does anyone know how to get the PMs back?_

_Oh, by the way, some people have been asking to see a drawing I made, or a video of me singing. Well, I've found a way to show you! I'll post the lck on my profile later._

_One more little thing! Expect a new story soon! t should be titled Perhaps I May, unless I change it._

_And don't forget to vote in my poll! The results so far are:_

_6 - marriage candidates_

_5 - rival children_

_Please review!_

* * *

_(1) I always thought that sounded weird…_

_(2) 13 more sprites, not including Karaf._

_(3) The stairs are where the entrance to the rooms is in SI._

_(4) I believe that part is in chapter... 5? Sorry if I'm wrong._


	16. First Drafts

**Ch. 16 –**** First drafts**

_I'm sorry… I kinda forgot about this story… Yeah, believe it or not, I did… Poo me. My other stories took over. ':) Heh heh…_

* * *

When I got to church the next day, Mark and Sabrina were already there waiting for me.

I was surprised I even remembered where the church was! Church didn't interest me much; I didn't really believe in the Harvest Goddess before I really met her. It just didn't seem important.

"Oh, you're here!" Sabrina said, jumping to her feet. Mark was on one of the blanket covered benches painting veins on his hands. Typical boyish thing to do.

Everything in the church was covered in white silk, to refrain from getting paint everywhere. Only a big white wall on the right was left uncovered. This was supposedly where the mural would be painted.

Mark stood up and walked up beside Sabrina. "Um… hi?" he said kinda awkwardly.

I waved back, but there was an uncomfortable silence that filled the room. No one really had any idea what to do at the moment.

"So! Um…" Sabrina tried to lighten the atmosphere. "What do we draw?"

Mark shrugged. "I dunno."

Way to be a big help, Mark.

"How about we draw the whole town?" I suggested.

"You mean like the scenery?" Sabrina asked, fixing up her glasses.

"No, I mean like the people!" I exclaimed. "It **would** well represent our Island!"

"Yeah, but what if we have kids, n' stuff?" Mark asked, confusion obvious in his green eyes. "Would we have to… like, paint them too after?"

Sabrina and I both blushed a little, probably both thinking about how to get new children like that…

"Well… he does have a point." Sabrina said, looking down at her shoes.

"Well… we don't add them!" I said. Completely logical, wasn't it?

"What do you mean?"

"Well, this is a mural of **our **people, and **our** mural should include us, and no other."

"If we keep adding other people, there won't be enough room on the wall, and we'll have to cover up our own." I gestured to the wall.

"Instead, we should put us, and only us, so people will be able to remember us in years to come!"

Sabrina cocked her head to the side. "I guess that's a good idea… What do you think, Mark?"

Mark looked up. "Huh?"

I glared at him. "Let me guess. You weren't paying attention?"

Mark shrugged innocently. "Heh heh…" he laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head.

I sighed, and put my hand to my head. "Somehow I have trouble thinking that **you're** the one teaching **me**…"

Mark grinned. "Heh."

Oh, so NOW he decides to be quiet…

"Hmm…" Sabrina, frowned, cupping a hand on her chin thoughtfully. "How about we all draw what we want to see in the mural on a piece of paper, and we vote for which one we like best!"

Mark and I looked at each other, and shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

And so, we all took a lined piece of paper.

I stared at the page. Remember… I can't take too long on this. I'll just make a draft of some sort… I'll make the people cartoony, so I won't need to add much detail.

* * *

Half an hour later, we were all finished our drawings.

Mine was of the villagers, like I said I would do. Most of us were posing for a picture… Mark, Sabrina and I were in the middle, smiling like normal people.

Natalie was behind Mark with her arms crossed stubbornly.  
Eliza and Charlie were running in front of us all, followed by Chen, who was trying to catch them.  
Taro was shouting at… no one in particular.  
Elliot was staring at his feet, as if even the thought of being photographed intimidated him.  
Julia was jumping in the air, while doing a peace sign, like I imagined her real self would do.  
And Vaughn… was walking away from it all. You couldn't see his face, only his back.

Apart from that, the rest of the people were smiling like normal people. Or, as normal as they could possibly be.

Sabrina had drawn the scenery at Mystic Islands, on Harvest Goddess Island. There was the silhouette of a girl kneeling in front of the Goddess Spring. In the spring was the reflection of the dark night sky and the stars. Tiny dots of light spotted the water. In the middle of the spring was a flower (1), with a detached petal floating beside.

And Mark's… was a cow. A big cow with a stick man riding it.

"What the heck, Mark?" I said.

"What? I didn't know what to draw…"

"So you drew a cow." I stared at him in disbelief, pushing away a strand of hair that had fallen into my face. "Yep, that's logical."

"So… do we… should we vote now?" Sabrina asks.

"Uh… Yeah, I guess." I agreed. "So… who votes for mine?" I gasped when no one lifted up their hand. "Hey!" I shouted, as I lifted up my own hand to vote. Sheesh…

"Who votes for Sabrina's?" I watched as Sabrina lifted up her own hand. Wait a second… that would make it…

"And Mark?" Mark lifted his hand to vote for himself.

"… A three-way tie…" I finished my thoughts out loud.

We all looked at each other. Maybe this vote thing didn't work out as good as we had planned…

"Okay, let's try again, but this time no one votes for themselves." I stared at them both seriously, as if I were about to kill somebody, or… something like that… "Comprendo?"

They both nodded their heads. "Alright… well then who votes for Mark?"

"…" We looked around at each other, and Mark pouted when he realized no one had voted for him. Well… in my defence, who would want to paint a dude on a cow? Oh, yes. Mark would.

"Who votes for Sabrina?" I raised my hand, and was surprised when no one else did. Yes! That could only mean that…

"And who votes for me?" Yes! I watched happily as both Mark and Sabrina raised their hands.

"… Yay!" I exclaimed.

"Well, we've decided what we're going to draw, apparently…" she didn't seem too thrilled. "So, I guess we have to go now."

"Huh? Why?"

"We only have about 45 minutes here, and we've used up about…" she placed a finger on her lower lip thoughtfully, as she tried to calculate the time without using a watch. "… 41. There's no point on starting now."

"Well… aw, that's no fun!" Mark pouted.

Sabrina and I glanced at each other, before bursting into laughs.

"Hey! What's so funny?" Mark asked. "Guys! What's so funny?"

* * *

As I was crossing the bridge, I was surprised when I saw Julia waiting for me impatiently.

When she heard me coming, she looked up in surprise, and jumped over to me.

"CHELSEA, CHELSEA, CHELSEA, CHELSEA!" she yelled.

"What…?" I asked, while rubbing my right ear. I think she might've burst my ear drum… Check, 1, 2, 1, 2? Nope, we were lucky this time (2).

"It's Elliot!" she yelled, a little quieter though. "He won't talk to me!"

Hm? Why is she so obsessed with that nerd dude…? Oh, yeah, I remember now. She has a stupid crush on mister nerdy-bottoms. Heh heh.

"Okay, so what did you do to upset him?" I asked.

"I did NOTHING!" she yelled again, making wild hand gestures as her golden hair whipped around wildly.

"Okay… When did you last talk to him?" I'm really bad at giving love advice, since all love ever gave me was a criminal record.

"Hm? Oh, just like, 10 minutes ago, and he just stared at me not happy-ish and walked away!"

"No, I mean when did you last talk to him **before** that?"

"Oh, like, 15 minutes ago, and he did the exact same thing!"

And why did the world's biggest airhead have to come to **me**? "I mean when did you last talk to him **before** he started glaring at you?"

Julia cocked her head to the side. "Glaring?" My goddess, I am never EVER dying my hair blonde…

"Oh, you mean not happy-ish staring!" Julia exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

"… Yeah." Whatever rocks your boat, right?

"Well… I think that was the day of the sleepover!" Julia said happily. Bi-polar, much?

Wait… That's it!

* * *

_*Flashback*_

"_Ok, Julia, uh… Go to Elliot, kiss him on the cheek, and tell him he's smexy!" I said. Natalie burst out laughing._

"_My brother? __**MY **__brother? Sexy? Ha, you wish!" Now, it was Julia's turn to turn red._

"_And tell him to meet you at the beach in 5 minutes, then ditch him!" Lanna added. (3)_

* * *

"Julia! I know why Elliot's mad!" I yelled out.

"Why, why, WHY?" she yelled back.

"Remember when Lanna and I dared you to tell Elliot to meet you at the beach in 5 minutes, and then you never showed up?"

"… Yeah… What's your point?" Okay, it's official. The next time Julia goes to the haircutters, I'm going to die her hair brown!

"He's angry, because you ditched him!" I refrained from adding a 'duh' at the end. "Have you even talked to him since then?"

"… Ooooooh, I get it!" Julia said, tossing her hair. "But… I've been really busy n' all, so I didn't really get the chance to talk to him…"

My Goddess, this girl is impossible… "Well then go talk to him! NOW!"

"Okay!" she said, as she ran off.

"…" This girl, sometimes…

"Shea found Chelee!"

I gasped, and slowly turned around.

"Hi… Shea…" I said, waving. Not a good time, Shea.

"Shea want to teach Chelee to- SQUIRREL!" Shea's attention was lost, as he ran into the forest.

"… Squirrels? Is it even possible to eat that?"

"I don't know…" said a voice.

I jumped, and spun around to see the tiny orange sprite floating behind me. "God dammit, you dumb fairy! You scared the freaking crap outta me!"

"You might want to quiet down a little. Gannon's on his way." Finn said with a sigh, choosing to ignore my sudden outburst.

"Okay." I responded, deciding it'd be best.

"Hey Chelsea." Right on cue. There was Gannon now!

"Oh, hey, Gannon! What's up?" I said casually, with a small wave.

"Hm? Oh, I was just comin' to start buildin' the bird shed. I couldn't before because o' the typhoon, so I'm a little late…"

"Oh, that's perfectly alright!" I said with a smile. "How long will it take?"

"Just a day!" Gannon replied proudly. "It'll be finished by either tomorrow, or the day after!"

"Oh! That's good! Thank you!"

I watched the strong man walk to the far end of my farm in happiness, feeling extremely satisfied with my day.

* * *

_Well, howdy doo, my friends!_

_You probably haven't realized, but on August 26th, it was my 6th month anniversary on Fanfiction! YAAAAY! …So I've only completed 16 chapters of this story in 6 months? …Kinda sad… But I did make 9 other stories, in my defense!_

_So… it's almost the end of spring now! Hooray! Which means… I need to get a LOT moving before the end of summer…_

_I WANT to make a oneshot for the first day of school… if I can finish it on time…_

_So, please review, and have… as much fun as you can at school!_

* * *

_(1) A moondrop flower, if you want to be specific. It's the one that looks like an orange daisy._

_(2) We, as in Chelsea and her ear, or as Chelsea and Julia, since Chelsea probably would've strangled her. I'll leave the choice up to you!_

_(3) All in chapter 5._


	17. Replay Button

**Cry me a River**

_I'm so sorry this took so long…! Gah, I've been really busy… Plus, I also officially discontinued one story, possibly going to do the same to another, AND I created a new story, which I've been pretty busy with._

_So, really… bleh._

_Credit to story "Replay Button" for help on an idea for the chap._

_Also, has anyone else noticed that at first, Vaughn came on Mondays and Tuesdays? Now he comes on Wednesdays and Thursdays… I got too used to the idea of IoH… T-T_

_Also, a lot of people have been asking for Vaughn, so... here he is! Wednesday has come at last!_

_Anyway, on to the hopefully well-awaited chapter!_

* * *

**Chapter 17 - Replay Button**

"So… You gonna enter the spring crop contest?" Vaughn asked, trying to fill in the awkward silence.

It's a Wednesday. Of course… You probably already figured that part out, didn't you? So… how did we end up in the same room, forced to live in this awkward atmosphere, and trying to start a small conversation? Perhaps... it would be better explained in Vaughn's point of view...

* * *

**Vaughn's PoV**

I stepped off of the ferry onto the island. It was very early Wednesday. The ferry was a little later than usual, so it had to be around 4:30 am right now.

With a sigh, I walked in the direction of Mirabelle's shop, knowing that I would be getting a half hour less of sleep because of the ferry driver's carelessness.

Whatever.

I took out a silver key out from my pocket, and slid it in the keyhole of the door. With a small click, the door unlocked, and I was let in. I locked the door behind me, as usual (Mirabelle insisted on me doing so, although I doubt any thief would be around here anyway), and walked quietly up the stairs towards the room Mirabelle had let me keep.

I didn't keep a lot of stuff there, which was fine with me.

After brushing my teeth, I lay myself on the bed, and rested, trying to take advantage of the time I had, since I lost a half hour already.

Although I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep too long…

.o0o.

"Hey Vaughn! … Oh, Vaughnie!" Julia shrieked, as she ran through the house, searching for me.

I sat in the wooden chair in the kitchen, and sipped my mug of coffee. It was too early to be bothered by Julia. Wait 'til at least 8 o' clock…

"Vaughn… just answer her, would ya?" Mirabelle asked. She too was probably annoyed by her daughter's behavior.

I gave her a look that said 'No. Freaking. Way.', and went back to my coffee. She sighed, and wiped her hands off a dishtowel, and walked into the main room.

"Julia! Quit shouting, he's in the kitchen!" she yelled.

I choked on the brown liquid and glared at her. "Hey!"

A small chuckle sounded from her, as she shrugged, and resumed cleaning last night's dishes.

"Oh! Okay! Vaughn, I'm coming!" I heard Julia shout. I put my mug down, and started banging my head on the wooden table.

'No… No… No… No…!'

"Hey Vaughn!"

'No…!'

"What do you want…?" I groaned.

"What makes you think I want something?" Julia asked sweetly, crossing her arms behind her back.

I looked at her and shook my head. "Because you always want something…"

"Hmm…" Thought Julia. "Good point. Now come with me!" she said, as she started pulling me by the arm.

Naturally though, I was stronger than her, so I didn't get forced out of my chair in the slightest.

She stopped pulling for a moment to give me the 'puppy eyes face'. "No, Julia." I said sternly.

But of course she wasn't going to listen. That was very like her to do.

"If… you come with me… I'll stop annoying you!" she tried.

I raised a brow. Hmm… that sounded decent enough. An extra day without Julia around… Not too bad of a deal, actually…

"Fine." I answered, raising from my seat. Julia look surprised, but I caught a small mischievous smirk.

I shrugged and let it slide. Whatever she was planning would be over sooner or later…

She grabbed my arm, and started to run up the stairs. Well… sort of. I was too strong for her, so she basically just tugged and tried to run while I walked behind her.

Eventually, we got up those stairs, and she stopped right in front of my room.

She stood at the side of the closed door. "After you!" she said with a mischievous smile.

Aw crap… what did she do this time?

As I walked inside, I noticed someone sitting in a chair by my desk, glancing behind her.

"Chelsea? What are you doing here?"

The door shut behind me. Julia laughed evilly.

"Hahaha! I'll let you out when I'm ready, Vaughnie! Besides… the readers were practically begging for another Vaughn x Chelsea scene! Lucky dude… so loved…"

Julia sighed. "And yet, no one asked for a Julia scene… I feel so unloved…" There was a small pause. "Oh, sorry, I'm rambling again… where was I again? Oh yeah!"

Click!

"I'm so glad there's a childproof lock option! Now you can't unlock it from the inside! Haha! And only I have the ke-"

Cling!

I frowned. That sounded like metal hitting the ground…

"…" Julia scurried away, then came back. "Tee hee! I dropped the key!"

I face palmed.

"Julia, just let us out…!" Chelsea rose and walked beside me.

"No! Ahahaha!" Julia laughed.

"Darn blonde…" I heard Chelsea mutter, and I had to suppress the urge to smirk. "I'll tell Elliot!"

Julia giggled. "Are you threatening me?"

"Yep, sure am. Now let us out."

"Tee hee! It won't work! I'm smart!"

Chelsea scoffed (1). "Smart my ass!"

"Ouch! That's not nice!" Julia whined, and sighed. "Well… I should go now. Lanna's waiting for me! You two… have fun!"

"…" Footsteps walked away, and we didn't speak.

I sat on my bed, gripping my hair. "I freaking hate her…" I muttered.

Chelsea sat back in her chair, and raised a brow, crossing her arms. "Wow. Don't you know how to make a girl feel special." She said sarcastically.

I lowered my hat. "Whatever."

We sat there for a few moments.

"So…" Chelsea started, but didn't say anything after. Finally, after another minute, she sighed. "We might as well talk, since we'll probably be here for a good hour."

I looked up at her. Tugging down at my hat, I tried my best to start a conversation. "So… You gonna enter the spring crop competition?"

* * *

**Back to Chelsea's epic PoV**

"Really? Is that the best you could come up with?" I asked, raising a brow.

He shrugged.

I sighed. "Well… points for trying. If you really wanted an answer, yeah, I am entering the spring crop competition."

Vaughn nodded. "Cool…"

I rolled my eyes, and gritted my teeth. "If you aren't even interested, then why'd you ask in the first place?"

Vaughn's head snapped up, his cold amethyst eyes glaring at me. "Look, **you're** the one who said we should talk, so I'm talking, okay? Give me a break!"

I jumped back at his outburst, then tilted my head to the side, as a sudden thought struck me.

Vaughn… was trying to do something. Something that **I** had asked of him.

I stood up and walked over to him, plopping down beside him on his bed. I was surprised when he didn't inch away.

"You know what? You're right." I said, brushing away a bang on my forehead. "You _are_ trying. You just need a little practice, I guess."

Vaughn snorted. "Practice?"

I nodded, and a smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. "Yeah. I mean, you don't really talk with people much." I caught him smirking, and quickly added, "You don't really talk **nicely** to people."

He looked down at his hands. I pulled them away.

"You can start by looking the person you're talking to in the eye."

He looked up at me, and my breath hitched when I caught sight of his eyes. Those pretty… deep… familiar looking eyes.

"Okay… then what?" he asked, looking away.

I gasped quietly. He's actually listening…! And was it just my imagination, or were his cheeks the slightest shade of pink? So he was… embarrassed? Vaughn?

"U-Um… you can… uh… talk about things you enjoy! Or ask questions about the other person. You might not find it interesting, but at least it fills in the silence, right?" I proposed.

"…" He seemed to be thinking. "Chelsea… why did you… move here?" he tried.

I choked on my breath, and started a coughing fit. Gasping for air, I coughed a little more, and looked up at him.

He was watching me looking slightly alarmed. "You… okay?"

I managed a weak smile. "I'm good. Sorry, you just… caught me off guard."

**Change the subject. Quick!**

"So, yeah, like that!" I said a little too quickly, but hopefully mister I'm-too-cool-to-talk wouldn't notice.

But he looked like he did. He raised a brow, frowning, but then shrugged, and seemed to brush it off.

"Sorry. I guess I shouldn't have asked something so personal."

So now he was apologizing? What happened?

"Uh, no, it's fine, s'just… uh… So, um, why don't you try smiling?" I quickly changed the subject again.

Again, he raised a brow. "Smiling? What good'll that do?" he asked.

"Well, it shows people you're kind, and they feel more confidence in talking to you."

Vaughn snickered, which became slightly louder until it became an actual laugh. I watched, shocked, then laughed with him.

"Don't laugh! It's true! You aren't completely heartless!"

"Completely heartless? Well, I'm not completely kind, either!" he countered.

"Well, you're smiling right now!" I pointed out, crossing my arms.

Quickly, Vaughn frowned, and tugged down on his hat. "No I'm not." He said, almost as if he were ashamed of smiling.

"Hey! That's cheating~!" I punched his arm.

"It's not cheating if there aren't any rules."

An image flashed in my head. A young girl with shoulder length brown hair sitting on a bench with a silver-haired boy beside her, both holding hands.

I sighed. If it really was him… then that's what it should be like. We should be friends. So why are we always acting like we hate each other?

"Why do we always act like we hate each other?" I asked, voicing my thoughts.

He glanced at me from the side. "Dunno. You started it."

I gasped. "I did not!"

I saw him raise a brow. "You slapped me within 10 minutes of meeting me. The first thing you ever said to me was 'What the hell is your problem?' You started it."

"…" Oh. So he was right after all. I mentally cursed myself for forgetting. "Well… let's pretend that didn't happen."

"Hm?"

"Let's press the replay button (2)!" A said with a small giggle.

Again, he just stared at me with a small question mark above his head.

I held out my hand. "Hi, my name's Chelsea! I'm the new farmer! And you are…?"

He stared at my hand, before grasping it and shaking it uncertainly. "The name's Vaughn. I'm the animal trader for these islands."

"Nice to meet you!"

So now we'll forget everything that happened between us before, and pretend we've just met. Maybe we'll be able to become friends? Maybe not. Either way… I hope we'll manage to get along better from now on.

I'm still going to kill Julia for locking us in here though.

* * *

_Sooo… *awkward silence* I'M SORRY! PLEASE DON'T HURT ME! _

_Yes, I know it took a really long time to update… and it wasn't all too long… but his time I have an excuse! *opens paper tucked in my back pocket* Ahem! I've been working on a new story for a new fandom called Lost and Found, and have been devoting all my time to that recently._

_It's for Vocaloid (anyone heard of it?), and I'm really excited for it. It's probably my longest one yet- around 3500 to 5000 words per chapter, and 16952 words so far, with only 4 chapters! I'm really proud, but it's going to make updates for CmaR slower. You guys are lucky I actually remembered! (*laughs*)_

_I gots a question, though! _

_Most of you have probably realized that I tend to babble a lot in my A/Ns. I'm trying to sort of minimize the amount of words I use. (In Lost and Found, one of my A/N's was 900 words long, but I was describing the house plans, so I guess it's okay… but still.) So I was wondering what I should talk less 'bout in here._

_Would you like me to talk more about my personal life, stuff about the story… what? I'd like to reduce my blabber… Already, this is 218 words. So, with that…_

_PLEASE REVIEW! YOU KNOW I LOVE THEM!_

* * *

_(1) Scoffed. Yep. A new word added to my vocabulary! _

_(2) Hahaha, I accidentally misspelled that word, and instead of saying replay, I said rape play! XD_


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